WELLINGTON: A surfing competition in New Zealand was temporarily halted after a water photographer was bitten by a marine animal, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing organisers on Monday.
The incident happened during the men’s semifinals at the New Zealand Pro in Raglan on the west coast of the North Island. Brazilian surfers Italo Ferreira and Yago Dora were taken out of the water on jet skis after the competition was stopped.
“At this stage we’re not certain it was a shark or a sea lion,” Renato Hickel, the World Surf League’s (WSL) vice president of tours and competition, said shortly after the incident on Monday morning.
Hickel said a doctor at the scene believed the photographer may have been bitten by a sea lion rather than a shark.
“Nevertheless, very scary,” he added.
Hickel later said in an update that the photographer was in hospital in stable condition and “in great spirits,” adding that the competition would resume after organisers consulted the surfers and other stakeholders.
In a message quoted during the WSL broadcast, photographer Ed Sloane said he was “doing okay” and receiving medical attention after suffering bites to his left foot. – BERNAMA-dpa
