A growing number of shark bite kits are turning up on remote beaches along Australia’s east coast following a series of fatal shark attacks.
Danny Schouten is in the process of installing his community-funded kits on remote beaches after his friend Kai Mckenzie, 23, lost his right leg while surfing on the New South Wales Mid North Coast in July of the year. past.
McKenzie bravely fought off the shark before catching a wave on shore, where he tied a makeshift tourniquet made from a dog leash around his leg.
The close proximity inspired Mr Schouten, who previously worked as a lifeguard in Port Macquarie, to create the life-saving shark bite kits.
“We’ve lost some people close to home over the years to sharks and I think it’s one of those things we need to be more prepared for,” he told the alphabet.
“I don’t understand why they aren’t installed yet, so I really want to contribute and make sure everyone has the opportunity to have something nearby.”
Each shark bite kit costs just $60 and contains two tourniquets, two bandages, a compression bandage, a thermal blanket, bags with severed parts, a whistle, and instructions on how to respond.
TO GoFundMe It has been created to finance the production of the kits.
Following the horrific shark attack on his partner Kai Mckenzie (right), Danny Schouten (left) has deployed community-funded shark bite kits to remote beaches.
Each kit (pictured) costs $60 and contains two tourniquets, two bandages, a compression bandage, a thermal blanket, bags with amputated parts, a whistle and instructions.
The remote North Shore beach in Port Macquarie, where a surfer lost a leg in 2023, was the first beach to install a shark bite kit (pictured) the following year.
“These kits are designed to provide a rapid response to help control bleeding in the crucial minutes following a shark attack and potentially save lives before professional medical help arrives,” Mr. Schouten wrote in the fundraising. funds.
‘The initial aim was to generate enough funds to provide kits to the popular but isolated beaches in the Port Macquarie-Hastings area.
‘However, the ultimate goal would be to have a kit on each of our beaches. Better yet, on all the beaches in Australia.
The remote North Shore beach in Port Macquarie, where McKenzie lost a leg in 2023, was the first beach to install a shark bite kit the following year.
The installation of the life-saving kits comes as the experienced surfer fatally attacked by a shark at Granites Beach on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula is identified as 28-year-old Lance Appleby.
The body of the Port Lincoln man, who was visiting family for Christmas, has yet to be found as an extensive search by air, land and sea enters its third day.
The attack comes after local fisherman Ben Schultz said he saw an “aggressive” great white shark in the area on the same day Appleby went missing.
A South Australian police spokesperson confirmed on Friday that someone on a jet ski had found a surfboard shortly after the attack.