62-year-old Martin Kane examies remains of his
surfski, bitten in half be a shark.

News from Australia today report that a shark of unconfirmed species, but presumably a great white, attacked 62-year-old Martin Kane off the beaches of Perth Australia while Kane was out surf skiing.

Kane was puddling his surf ski, which resembles a kayak, in waters north of Perth, when a shark hit the 12-foot surf ski from behind, biting it in half.

"I thought I'd been hit by a steam train… I didn't know what happened. Basically, next thing I know i'm in the water. There was an almighty crash, an almighty bang.

Kane at first thought he'd been hit by a rogue dolphin.

"What really confused me was the extent of the noise. It really surprised me I just didn't know what it was. It didn't strike me that it was a shark until I saw the fin.

Fortunately Kane wasn't alone. A friend in another surf ski paddled him back to shore though Kane's legs where left dangling in the water throughout the journey to the beach.

"My thoughts were with my legs dangling over the side I was going to loose them… I thought there's no way I'm going to make it back to the beach with that size shark after me."