Surfer Mick Fanning Shark Attack Video Goes Viral

A video of professional surfer Mick Fanning attacked by a white shark, approximately four minutes before the final heat versus Julian Wilson in J-Bay Open Surfing Competition in South Africa on Sunday, has gone viral in social media sites and garnered 8,317,573 views in Youtube as of the time of posting.

Surfer Mick Fanning Shark Attack Video


A lot of Facebook Pages posted the Mick Fanning Shark Attack Video and also generated a lot of views, likes, shares and comments.

The Guardian Facebook page, posted a 32-second clip of the lucky escape scene of Mick Fanning as he was attacked by the shark and garnered more than 2 million views, 16 thousand likes, 2 thousand comments and 14 thousand shares.

Mick Fanning shark attack video goes viral

According to a CNN report, organizers of the J-Bay Open, the sixth stop on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy World Surf League Championship Tour, canceled the remainder of the competition. After discussion with WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow, Fanning and competitor Julian Wilson decided to take equal second in rankings points and split the prize purse awarded to the winner.

WATCH: Mick Fanning Escapes Shark Attack


Fanning escaped with a severed leash on his surfboard. He told World Surf League TV that he "punched" the shark in the back to scare it away.

Zander Morton, a blogger who wrote an article about the incident in surfingmagazine.com said: "I watched it unfold in slow motion from the balcony of the competitors area and it all seemed surreal. Like, how could this be happening? I saw splashing and I saw Mick disappear, only to reappear without his board, swimming towards the beach. Had he lost a leg? An arm? Those were valid questions. The crowd was screaming. Horrified. Everyone feared the worst. It took about half a minute and thumbs up from the Ski for us to realize that Mick was, in fact, OK. Alive. All limbs in tact."

The surfing community and the netizens have mixed reactions regarding the incident. They admired Fanning for his admirable escape with the shark attack.

Mick Fanning, an Australian surfer, is a 3-time world champion in surfing.

"Mick Fanning will forever be remembered as the surfer that was attacked in a ‘CT competition at a notoriously sharky wave in South Africa," Morton said.

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