Video shows shark yanking woman into water by her finger in Australia

They say you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you, but a 34-year-old woman from Perth, Australia learned the hard way that the rules apparently don’t apply to sharks.

On May 30, Melissa Brunning was on vacation off the northwestern coast of Australia in Dugong Bay, a remote spot known for its sharks and saltwater crocodiles.

She was hand-feeding a group of two-metre tawny nurse sharks from a yacht, when one of them latched onto her finger and yanked her into the water.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Jaw-dropping great white shark encounter with police: ‘Look at the size of this thing!’

“It happened so quickly,” she told local channel 7 News.

“All I could really focus on was the fact that my finger is gone. He’d clamped on it and it felt like it was shredding off the bone.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "All I could really focus on was the fact that my finger is gone. He'd clamped on it and it felt like it was shredding off the bone."

The horrifying moment, all caught on video, shows Brunning screaming as she was dragged overboard before the boat’s crew and friends quickly pulled her back up.

READ MORE: Drone captures great white shark approaching unsuspecting surfer in Australia

Miraculously, she escaped relatively unscathed with all 10 fingers intact, but suffered a minor fracture and a torn ligament.

“I came up and I couldn’t even look at my finger because I thought it was gone, and I thought if I looked at it I’d probably go into shock,” Brunning said.
Brunning told local media she was wrong to try to feed the sharks, and said the experience has taught her to “respect marine life.”