A woman was swimming in clear waters just 100 feet off a Sydney beach when a beautiful day turned into a fight for survival.

A four-meter great white shark surfaced near a group of swimmers and quickly targeted Leah Stewart.

As the predator approached with its mouth opening, Stewart made a split-second decision to protect her face and body. She used her left arm to block the shark, which clamped down and inflicted severe injuries before pulling her underwater by her leg.

Leah Stewart went into detail about the shark attack. Credit: Good Morning Britain

Driven by the thought of her one-year-old daughter, August, Stewart refused to give up. She flipped herself around underwater and struck back, repeatedly punching the ocean predator directly on the tip of its sensitive snout until the animal finally released its grip.

Fight for survival in the water

During an interview on Good Morning Britain, Stewart recalled the intense moments when the shark approached her. She noted that the creature was moving slowly and inquisitively before it opened its mouth.

"As the shark got closer to me, it started to open its mouth. And I just knew it was going to get my body or my face. And so I had to use my arm to try and block the shark from biting me," Stewart said.

When the predator dragged her under the surface, panic set in, but her instinct to stay alive for her child took over.

"I just was thinking of her, and I thought, she's not going to have a mom. She's going to grow up without a mom. And I thought, I've just got to fight it. I've just got to punch it or do whatever I can to stop it from killing me," she explained.

Emergency rescue on the sand

After the shark let her go, Stewart surfaced in bloodied waters and managed to reach surfer Charlie Vero, who helped bring her to the shore. Once on the beach, a medical professional immediately stepped in to deliver critical care.

"There was actually a medical doctor on the sand who was able to instantly look after me. And I actually had a blood transfusion on the sand on the beach. He called up a helicopter that brought blood and fluids down to the beach," Stewart said.

The physician, Dr. Ian Ferguson, administered a blood transfusion directly through her bone marrow right on the beach, stabilizing her before she was rushed to the hospital.

Coping with trauma and looking forward

Although Stewart lost her left arm and suffered severe damage to her leg, she remains focused on recovery and raising her daughter. She acknowledged that the psychological impact of the ordeal remains a daily struggle.

"I definitely do have PTSD, but for me, I've sort of disassociated from it. And I think that's my brain trying to protect me from it," Stewart shared during the broadcast.

She hopes to one day share the experience with her daughter through a storybook about how motherly love helped her overcome the frightening ordeal.

While she recognizes there is a long road of healing ahead before considering a return to the ocean, Stewart expressed deep gratitude for the bystanders, medical workers, and community members who helped save her life.

Featured image credit: Good Morning Britain

A mother who suffered life-threatening injuries in a shark attack off the coast of Australia has spoken for the first time since being brought out of a medically induced coma.

Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher and mom, was attacked while swimming near Sydney’s Coogee Beach on June 13. After more than a week in intensive care, multiple surgeries, and days on life support, her family has shared a hopeful update on her condition.

The breakthrough came on June 23 when doctors were able to extubate Stewart and reduce her sedation levels for the first time since the attack. According to her brother, Joshua Stewart, the move allowed her to briefly wake and interact with loved ones gathered at her bedside.

Leah Stewart. Credit: GoFundMe

First words bring hope to family

In an update posted to a GoFundMe page, Joshua described the emotional moment.

“This allowed Leah to share her first words ‘I love you’ with her Mum and partner Fernando who have been by her side in ICU since the incident,” Joshua wrote. "Leah’s first thought was of her 1-year-old daughter, August, and she immediately asked if she was okay."

He added: “This is a lot faster than anyone expected,” he continued, “and for us this feels like a miracle and is everything so many of us have hoped and prayed for over the past week.”

The update marks a significant step forward for Stewart, who remains in critical care following the devastating attack.

A long recovery still lies ahead

According to information previously shared by her family, Stewart sustained severe injuries during the attack, including multiple bites to her arms and legs. One of her arms was amputated, and she also suffered “lacerations and fractures throughout her body, and extreme blood loss.”

A friend was caring for Stewart’s toddler on the beach when the attack occurred. Her partner, Fernando, was overseas for work at the time, according to the family’s fundraiser.

Following the incident, Joshua wrote: “As a family, we are shocked and devastated that this could happen to our beloved partner, daughter, and mother who is so full of life and energy.”

Coogee Beach is one of Australia's most popular swimming spots. Credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

Community rallies around shark attack survivor

While Stewart remains in the ICU and faces additional surgeries in the weeks ahead, support for her recovery has poured in from both her local community and strangers around the world.

As of June 24, the family’s GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly AUD $498,000 (approximately USD $343,500) to help cover her ongoing care and recovery.

Joshua said the recent interaction with his sister has given the family renewed optimism.

“Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care,” he wrote, “but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah’s long-term recovery.”

Featured image credit: GoFundMe

A young mother and primary school teacher has been left with life-threatening injuries after she was attacked by a shark while swimming at one of Australia’s most popular beaches.

The family of Leah Stewart, 35, has spoken out about the scale of her injuries after she was wounded by a suspected 3.5 metre shark while swimming within the safety flags of Coogee Beach on June 13.

Stewart suffered extreme blood loss and fractures after sustaining severe bites across all her limbs. Since the attack, she has had her arm amputated and is on life support in intensive care while she waits to undergo further surgeries.

Stewart has an 18-month-old daughter. Credit: GoFundMe

Stewart's family claims she was swimming safely near the shore

Described by her family as a dedicated ocean swimmer and devoted mother, the mother to an 18-month-old daughter's life will be changed forever by her catastrophic injuries.

Joshua, Stewart's brother, told the Guardian: "She's so full of life, she's so energetic, she loves the ocean. She was swimming in the flags, really close to the shore, when it happened on a crystal-clear Saturday morning. She'd done all the right things."

When asked about the severity of his sister’s injuries, he added: "We're still waiting on further news from the hospital. There are multiple, quite serious injuries. This has been negatively life-changing for Leah. It is just such a tragic and horrific circumstance."

To help cover the inevitable costs of Stewart’s long-term specialist care, prosthetics, and rehabilitation, her family has set up a GoFundMe page dedicated to her lengthy recovery.

On the page Joshua wrote: "Leah faces a long road to recovery and your support will make a huge difference in her quality of life, rehabilitation and ability to go back to being a mom to her much-loved daughter."

Coogee Beach is one of Australia's most popular swimming spots. Credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

A young lifeguard saved Stewart by pulling her onto his surfboard

Off-duty lifeguard, Charlie Verco, 24, helped save the teacher’s life by paddling towards the shark on his surfboard and dragging Stewart onto it.

He described how he courageously saved her life to ABC News, saying: "I could see the dorsal fin and the tail fin and the body of it, and I felt like I was looking up at the shark, just because it was so big.

"I thought it would be able to bite myself and my board in half without much effort."

According to the volunteer lifeguard, the shark dragged Stewart underwater before releasing her.

Verco said: "She was lucid enough to say 'help' and respond to instruction, but she was very much in shock and definitely freaked out."

Shortly after she was hauled onto the surfboard, emergency services arrived and airlifted Stewart to St Vincent’s hospital.

The Coogee Surf Life Saving Club's president, Ben Heenan, paid tribute to first responders who acted with "speed, precision, and a fair bit of courageousness."

Featured image credit: GoFundMe

Haunting diary entries belonging to a couple that was left behind in shark-infested waters have been revealed.

In January 1998, an American couple, Tom and Eileen Lonergan, had been traveling the world when they decided to board their scuba dive boat, Outer Edge, to explore an area of the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast.

After completing two 40-minute dives, the pair were preparing for a third at a site known as Fish City, an area notorious for its large shark population.

However, after resurfacing, they found that their dive boat had disappeared, leaving them stranded in the open ocean.

According to the Daily Record, the Lonergans, who met at Louisiana State University and worked with the US Peace Corps in Tuvalu and Fiji, stayed submerged far longer than advised and the crew’s safety checks missed them.

When the boat returned to Port Douglas that evening, their belongings, including their dive bags, were left unclaimed and overlooked.

It wasn’t until two days later that the crew realized the mistake, but by then, the damage had been done.

Following the couple's disappearance, their personal diaries were found in their hostel room in Cairns. The contents provided disturbing insights into their mindset leading up to their tragic fate.

In his diary, Tom wrote: “I feel as though my life is complete and I'm ready to die.” This unsettling entry, dated six months before the couple's disappearance, continued with: “As far as I can tell, from here my life can only get worse. It has peaked and it's all downhill from here until my funeral.”

Eileen’s journal entries were equally chilling, as just 16 days before the couple went missing, she wrote about Tom’s indifferent attitude toward death.

“Tom hopes to die a quick and fairly painless death, and he hopes it happens soon. Tom's not suicidal, but he's got a death wish that could lead him to what he desires, and I could get caught in that," she penned.

The Lonergans' disappearance inspired the film Open Water. Credit: Samuel J Coe / Getty Images

Despite exhaustive efforts from rescue teams, the Lonergans’ remains were never recovered.

Their tragic story inspired the 2003 film Open Water, which depicted a similar scenario of being stranded in shark-infested waters.

To capture the terror and panic the couple would have experienced, real sharks were allowed to swim around the actors, with cameras attached to buoys to provide a terrifyingly close perspective. Tuna chunks were thrown into the water to keep the sharks away from the cast.

Featured image credit: Samuel J Coe / Getty

A video of a shark 'lunging' at a woman who tried to pet it over the side of a boat has gone viral.

The internet has the power to bring attention to the behavior of some people that may seem unbelievable unless you see it with your own two eyes, and this video is no different.

If you were told that someone thought it was a good idea to pet a shark, you'd think it was a scene from a Hollywood disaster film, which would leave viewers screaming at the screen.

But no, somebody believed that leaning over a boat to 'pet it like it's the family dog' was a bright idea, as she touched the head of a great white shark.

A group from Knot Lucky Fishing was out on the water near Tybee Island, Georgia, USA, when they decided to stop and get closer to some sea creatures.

A video of a lunging great white shark has gone viral. Credit: Facebook/Knot Lucky Fishing

The woman's actions caused the shark to lunge

Knot Lucky Fishing is known to take active duty service members, veterans, and their families on free fishing trips.

They also run the White Shark Tagging Program with Starbrite, Project SeaSafe and Gray FishTag Research.

This involves catching sharks, tagging them, and releasing them back into the wild, which leads us to the incident in question.

In an encounter between one of their veterans and a shark, the woman decided to try and 'pet' the sea predator, as seen in a video Knot Lucky Fishing posted to its Facebook page.

They wrote that the shark had 'other ideas', as a hand can be seen reaching down to stroke the shark on the back of its head as if it were 'the family dog'.

Unsurprisingly, the shark did not look pleased, and lunged forwards, with its mouth bumping into the boat.

Luckily, the woman escaped unscathed, as the fishing company said: "Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest."

While they seemed quite laid back about the situation, some social media users were more concerned, as one asked: "Why would you want to pet a shark?"

Another said: "What does one expect from a shark trying to protect itself?!"

"'Lunged'. I think the shark was far more interested in getting off the hook than trying to take a bite out of the woman," a third added.

Statement from Knot Lucky Fishing

Following the online reaction, the organization released a statement, claiming that the woman, Jen, was safe the entire time.

"The crew had that shark under control the whole time, and it never got close enough to do any harm," they wrote.

"But that reaction right there is a reminder of exactly what these animals are. Beautiful. Powerful. Wild. They deserve every ounce of respect we can give them."

They said that Jen was never in any 'real danger', further adding that this is what its 'White Shark Tagging Program is all about.'

"We catch, tag, and release great whites to collect real research on where they go and how they live, and every shark we tag carries the name of a fallen brother. Science and honor on the same deck," the post added.

Knot Lucky Fishing then thanked Starbrite, Gray's FishTag Research, and Ambio Life Sciences for their part in starting the fishing company.

They clarified that the shark in the video didn't get tagged as the crew didn't have a safe shot, adding: "The shark's safety and the crew's safety come first, every single time, so we let that shark go to swim another day."

Featured image credit: Facebook/Knot Lucky Fishing