British shark attack victim was saved by two pensioners - and a seal

SHARK attack Brit Michael Cohen’s life was saved by two hero friends who pulled him from the water – and a seal.

Horrified witnesses told how the nine-foot great white was poised to strike again but got distracted when the mammal swam between it and the victim.

The seal then circled Michael and rescuers Douglas -Drysdale, 61, and Hugh Till, 66, as they dragged him to the shore with the deadly shark lurking just feet away.

They had bravely waded into the bloodied water after the beast had ripped off Michael’s right leg and badly mauled his left ankle.

The quick-thinking pair tied a makeshift -tourniquet around the accountant’s severed limb, a move doctors say saved his life.

Kyle James was on the beach near Cape Town, South Africa, when he saw the giant fish swim silently up behind Michael.

He said: “The shark lunged for the swimmer, shook him once, then let go and moved off five or 10 metres away.”
Two men pull out Mark Cohen after shark attacked him in Cape Town (Pic: Noble Draper)

Former South African surfing champion Tracy Sassen also witnessed the attack.

She said: “I saw a burst of water and thought it was a seal taking a fish.

“Then people started rushing into the sea and pulling this guy out. He was crying and pleading, ‘Please help me.’ Half of one leg was missing.”

Craig Lambinon of South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute spoke of the seal’s intervention. He added: “Witnesses said the seal circled the man and his rescuers as they waded ashore with the shark close by.”

Douglas and Hugh had shouted warnings at Michael from a cliff where they were sitting. But by the time they got into the water, the shark had struck. They made their tourniquet from the leg of a wetsuit and two belts. Trauma surgeon Professor Andrew Nicol, who spent four hours operating on Michael, said: “They saved his life. He is very lucky to be alive.

“We replaced his entire blood volume almost twice.”

A regular swimmer at Fish Hoek beach where he was savaged on Wednesday, Michael was in the water despite the beach being closed after three sharks were spotted. He is said to have once told friends: “If a shark takes me, then blame me, not the shark.”

Michael studied at university in South Africa but lived in London for a while. He has a British passport but lives in South Africa.

Ligue des champions : l'OM "savoure une victoire au score sévère" LEMONDE.FR avec Reuters

 "On savoure cette victoire. On n'a pas été malheureux par rapport au match livré par Dortmund. Le score est sévère pour eux", relativise Didier Deschamps. L'entra?neur marseillais a noté "une animation offensive intéressante" et pense déjà au championnat : "J'espère que cette belle victoire va nous donner davantage de confiance et de sérénité par rapport à ce qui nous attend dès dimanche." En effet, l'OM devra viser la victoire dimanche contre Brest. De quoi profiter de la victoire hier, et de l'ensemble de leurs résultats en Ligue des champions, "une merveilleuse parenthèse qui nous sourit, mais la priorité reste le championnat", a précisé l'ancien champion du monde.

"NOUS AVONS PAYé CHER NOS ERREURS"

Après avoir monopolisé assez largement le ballon, Dortmund a payé cher son manque de réalisme face au but adverse, ce qu'a reconnu son entra?neur, Jürgen Klopp : "On a eu trois occasions en début de seconde période, une autre en première. Ce sont les moments clés de la rencontre. Nous payons assez cher aussi nos erreurs", a regretté le technicien allemand. "Il nous faut beaucoup plus tirer au but par rapport à notre possession de balle. Nous jouons bien mais on prend trois buts et on n'en met aucun", a-t-il ajouté.

Lors de la prochaine journée de Ligue des champions, Marseille recevra Arsenal le 19 octobre, ce qui inspire à Didier Deschamps du respect, mais des ambitions, aussi : "On a maintenant une double confrontation avec la meilleure équipe du groupe. Il faudra être capable de prendre des points contre cette équipe-là." Le Borussia se rendra pour sa part en Grèce pour un match déjà couperet face à l'Olympiakos. "Il y a beaucoup de pression sur nos épaules. On sait ce qui nous reste à faire, on ne va pas se lamenter", a conclu l'entra?neur de Dortmund.

Ed Miliband goes after Tories on NHS, welfare and the economy

ED Miliband came out fighting yesterday by pummelling David Cameron on the NHS, welfare and the economy.

The Labour leader branded the Prime Minister a two-faced leader who stood for tax cuts for the rich while the rest of us got poorer.

And he pledged to sweep away the rotten Conservative values that encouraged a “fast-buck culture”.
Advertisement >>

In a powerful speech which captivated the party faithful, he warned the Tories: “I’m up for the fight.”

He added: “On the 50p tax rate, on banks, on the closed circles of Britain, on welfare, on the NHS, David Cameron’s not about a new set of rules. He’s the last gasp of the old rules. The wrong values for our country and for our time.

“Only David Cameron could believe that you make ordinary families work harder by making them poorer and you make the rich work harder by making them richer. How dare they say we’re all in it together.”

His biggest cheer from the Liverpool conference came when he tore apart the Government’s NHS reforms.

Bringing delegates to their feet for a lengthy ovation, Mr Miliband said: “Let me tell David Cameron this. It’s the oldest truth in politics. He knows it and now the public know it. You can’t trust the Tories with the NHS.”

He accused the Tory leader of duping voters before the general election that the health service would be protected. “He asked for your trust. And then he got into Downing Street and within a year he’d gone back on every word he said. He betrayed your trust,” he said. “No more top-down reorganisations? He betrayed your trust. No more hospital closures? He betrayed your trust. No more long waits? He betrayed your trust. And the biggest betrayal of all? The values of the NHS. Britain’s values, the values he promised to protect, betrayed.”

Mr Miliband used the 55-minute speech to set out his vision for Britain and pointedly drew a line under the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown years, insisting: “I’m my own man.”

CHANCE

He said there was a “once in a generation chance” to write a new chapter in Britain’s history.

Under his leadership Labour would not just sweep away the Tories but the greedy bankers, rotten political systems and welfare cheats.

The speech – which suffered afive-minute live blackout for TV viewers because of an electrical problem – won plaudits from Labour -heavyweights, activists and unions.

Unison chief Dave Prentis said: “Ed’s passionate speech hit the right buttons. It showed he genuinely cares about Labour values, public services and our great NHS, values that will resonate with the people.” Former Chancellor Alistair Darling hit out at the delegates who had booed the mention of Tony Blair’s name.

But he said he liked the “economic realism” of Mr Miliband.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: “Mr Miliband was talking about people across Britain who are feeling really under pressure and facing a quiet crisis because of the cost of living and the pressure on their jobs, and the worries they have for the future.”

Shadow Energy Secretary Meg Hillier yesterday warned more old people could die this winter because of the huge hike in fuel bills.

She warned the big six firms she was putting them on notice.

She said: “They may be private companies but they should deliver a public service.”

It came as Shadow Culture Minister Ivan Lewis was slapped down after suggesting a register of professional journalists should be set up.

Mr Lewis, who suffered a string of bad headlines as a Government minister for bombarding a female member of staff with suggestive texts, told delegates reporters guilty of breaking strict new press rules could be “struck off” and banned from working in the media.

But Mr Miliband’s spokesman said: “We are not in the business of regulating journalists.”

Today in Liverpool, Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan will propose a “Victim’s Law” to protect bereaved families interests during trials, while accusing the Government of “consistently letting victims of crime down”.

His announcement will come ahead of Ms Cooper’s speech, in which she is due to launch a blistering attack on the Tories’ record on crime.