Breathtaking moment: A terrified diver fends off the great white shark with a spear before climbing back into his boat
A FISHERMAN had a frighteningly close encounter with a great white shark while diving off the coast of South Africa.
Johan Potgieter had to fend off the aggressive predator with his harpoon and only narrowly escaped.
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Potgieter and other divers were spearfishing in the murky depths of the sea east of Cape Town when the terrifying creature attacked.
The ensuing terrifying moments were captured on an underwater camera as Potgieter swims for his life to the safety of a boat.
In the clip he can be heard screaming as the tall white man narrowly dodges him and then violently comes back at him head-on.
He bravely manages to fend off the shark with his spear and frantically swims to the surface to call for help.
“Oi boys watch out for the white guys!!!” he yells at the others.
The shark continues to circle below as it struggles to climb aboard the boat.
Shocked and relieved, he says to his team, “Did you see that it almost ate me! John, it was right next to me, so I pushed it away with my gun.
“Guys, he almost ate me,” Potgieter adds breathlessly as the boat rushes to retrieve another diver.
Alongside his YouTube video of the attack, Potgieter writes: “The shark was clearly in attack mode now. I had to give him some dominance back to not get bitten.”
“That could easily have meant my end.”
The disturbing encounter happened in 2015, but the video is currently being shared widely online.
Another disturbing moment was recorded off the coast of Florida this month when a brave 10-year-old girl managed to defend herself from a shark.
Jasmine Carney had part of her foot ripped off in the horror attack before kicking him and getting away.
“I fought a shark and won,” she said proudly from her hospital bed a few days later.
Florida was also home to another gruesome attack in August, when a shark was filmed mauling a swimmer.
The video shows a heroic 16-year-old surfer rushing to the man’s aid after seeing him go underwater.
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/6896357/diver-fights-off-great-white-shark-with-spear/ Breathtaking moment: A terrified diver fends off the great white shark with a spear before climbing back into his boat