Great white shark jumps into 73-year-old fisherman's boat off coast of Australia

The man only sustained minor injuries.

ByABC News
May 29, 2017, 8:00 AM

— -- An Australian fisherman survived a close encounter with a 9-foot great white shark after it leaped into his boat on Saturday.

Terry Selwood, 73, was fishing off Evans Head, just north of Sydney, when the shark jumped onto the deck of his boat, according to The Associated Press. He said he left bruised and bleeding where the shark hit him, according to the AP, but managed to avoid being bitten.

"I caught a blur of something coming over the boat … and the pectoral fin of the shark hit me on the forearm and knocked me down on the ground to my hands and knees," Selwood told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Selwood radioed for help and stayed on the boat's gunnel until a rescue boat arrived.

PHOTO: A great white shark jumped into a fisherman's boat in Evans Head on the New South Wales north coast in Australia, May 27, 2017.
A great white shark jumped into a fisherman's boat in Evans Head on the New South Wales north coast in Australia, May 27, 2017.

"There I was on all fours and he's looking at me and I'm looking at him and then he started to do the dance around and shake and I couldn't get out quick enough onto the gunnel," Selwood told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Selwood was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries and has since returned home.

While the encounter left him shaken, Selwood told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation it won't keep him from the sea.

"It won't deter me from fishing, no way in the world," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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