MANDURAH, Australia, June 4 (UPI) -- A man who lost his leg in a shark attack on May 31 Friday night.
Ben Gerring, 29, died at Royal Perth Hospital after being critically injured by a great white shark while surfing at Falcon Bay beach, south of Mandurah, according to family members.
Gerring was surfing when he was attacked from behind by a shark, and was missing his leg from above the knee when fellow surfers pulled him from the water. Damage to his surfboard indicated he had been attacked by great white, according to West Australian Department of Fisheries officials.
His brother, Rick Gerring, thanked the "heroes" who pulled his brother from the sea, keeping him alive, and the medical staff who took care of him before he died.
"The hospital staff gave us those [three] days [with Ben]," Rick told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.. "Obviously, we were always hoping for the best outcome, it was always at the back of our minds that this could happen, but they gave us that time to say our goodbyes."
A 13.77-foot shark was caught on June 1 on a on a line set up around the area Gerring was attacked. The shark died on the line, and was disposed of in the ocean, with officials saying they could not tell if the shark was the same one that took the surfer's leg.
