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‘I punched great white shark in the EYE to save my life after it dragged 30ft below the waves’
Jul 13, 2020
Leeanne Ericson, 38, was swimming off Southern California's San Onofre beach while boyfriend Dusty Phillips surfed nearby one day in April 2017.
Speaking to National Geographic for the channel's annual two-week Sharkfest season, Leeanne described the moment she realised something was in the water beneath her.
“It was so beautiful that weekend. The water was so blue and sparkly," she said.
“We had noticed a sea lion had surfaced to my left and looked right at us, and I looked at my fiance Dusty and said, ‘That sea lion looks a little panicked to me’.
“And right away he dipped back down under. So I started to swim towards the shore.”
Within seconds, the shark clamped onto the top of Leeanne's right leg and began to drag her below the surface.
“As soon as it grabbed my leg, I knew what it was," she said.
"I remember being pulled down and thinking about my kids.
"And I remember thinking about my fiance not knowing where I was or what was happening to me.
"I went maybe 25-30 feet. I could notice the light change and it was getting darker and darker the further I was going down."
'A SCREAM I'D NEVER HEARD'
Dusty described paddling nearby when he heard Leeanne scream.
"It was a piercing scream I’d never heard. And it disappeared, mid-scream," he said.
"I turned around as quick as I could and there wasn’t even a ripple. Where the f**k did she go?"
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