Swimmer Fights Off Shark in Waist-Deep Water at Port St. Johns

On March 3, 2013, Fundile Nogumla, a 39-year-old businessman from Mthatha, traveled with his family to Second Beach at Port St. Johns in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, for an afternoon at the Indian Ocean. After his wife and children completed their swim, Nogumla entered the water to join approximately 30 other bathers in waist-deep conditions. Within five minutes of entering the water, an unidentified shark attacked. Nogumla described seeing the shark with its mouth wide open as he was struck. Rather than panic, he responded with immediate defensive action, punching and kicking the shark repeatedly. He recounted the encounter as an intense physical confrontation: "I boxed a shark and we drew. I fought a good fight. As I beat it with fists, it bit off some flesh on my arms, it was like a toe-to-toe fight." The shark attacked multiple times—three to four separate instances according to Nogumla's account—before he managed to escape the water. Throughout the incident, he called for help but received no response from other beachgoers. Nogumla sustained severe injuries including multiple lacerations to both arms, chest, and abdomen. He was treated at the provincial hospital in Mthatha and survived the encounter. The attack occurred at a beach with no lifeguards on duty. According to lifeguard Ndaba Mafutha, financial constraints severely limited protective services at Second Beach, despite the location's recognition as one of the world's most dangerous shark attack sites. The species of shark involved was not identified.