WATCH: uMhlanga angler knocked off kayak by shark

AN uMhlanga resident is thanking his lucky stars after he was knocked off his kayak by what’s believed to be a tiger shark which was after his catch. The incident occurred about one and a half kilometres from the Eastmoor Crescent Beach shoreline on Monday afternoon. Owen McMillan, was fishing with his friend, Murray van Wyk, when the incident unfolded.

While the video isn’t clear, it shows McMillan paddling towards his friend, who is knocked off his kayak by the shark. If you look to the far right of the screen you see van Wyk being taken out and McMillan frantically paddling over to him.

“He was busy reeling in his catch, a tuna, and he saw a large splash near the kayak. He thought it was a shark and I didn’t believe him. It wasn’t until I was paddling towards him I just saw this large shark launch itself out of the water knocking him off. He popped up out of the water immediately and I went over to him. He was lying prone on his upturned kayak. Thankfully he was unharmed but everything he had was knocked out of kayak.

“When we reached the shore, we realised how much the kayak had been damaged. We think it was a tiger shark based on the markings. Last month we spotted a tiger shark’s fin come out of the water while we were paddling in the area,” McMillan said.