Apart from a few scratches, the young Aussie got away with a scare. This Tuesday, January 31, several Australian media reported the misadventure of an 8-year-old boy in Australia, spotted in France by our colleagues from L'Indépendant. Without the date of the facts being specified, we thus learn that the young boy, Manni Alam, was the victim of a shark attack, while he had gone fishing near the Great Barrier Reef. A fully filmed attack, since Manni Alam had just brought a coral trout back to the boat and he wanted to share his beautiful catch on his TikTok account.
As he proudly places his fish in the bottom of the boat, it is then that a shark emerges from the bottom of the sea to come and bite the young child in the chest. Questioned by our Australian colleagues from Channel 9, Manni Alam explained that he "a little" felt the bite. "It hurt a little in the chest, but that's all," he nevertheless reassured. And for good reason, after biting the child, the shark quickly disappeared. And this misadventure is far from having frightened him. "I'll be back," he promised reporters.
An eight-year-old boy has survived a shock shark attack while on a family fishing trip. pic.twitter.com/aTxiQ5pZlx
An attack which did not completely surprise the father of the child, also questioned by our Australian colleagues. "Anyone who has dived knows it's a very common thing," explained Radwan Manni. It must be said that the statistics prove him right. In 2021, Australia experienced 682 shark attacks, according to a tally by the Florida Museum.
If in the case of Manni Alam the outcome was not fatal, it is not always the case. In 2021, the world experienced 11 fatal shark attacks, including 3 in Australia. Although it is perceived as dangerous in the collective imagination, the shark is far from being the most dangerous animal for humans. According to a BBC ranking from 2016, mosquitoes, snakes and dogs cause the most human deaths.
