WATCH: uMhlanga angler knocked off kayak by shark

An uMhlanga resident in Durban is thanking his lucky stars after he was knocked off his kayak by what is believed to be a tiger shark that was going after his catch.

The incident occurred about one and a half kilometres from the Eastmoor Crescent Beach shoreline on Monday afternoon, Northglen News reported.

Owen McMillan was fishing with his friend, Murray van Wyk, when the incident unfolded.

While the video does not show the event at close range, it shows McMillan paddling towards his friend, who got knocked off his kayak by the shark. Van Wyk appears on the the far right of the screen while McMillan frantically paddles over to him.

“He was busy reeling in his catch, a tuna, and he saw a large splash near the kayak. He thought it was a shark, and I didn’t believe him. It wasn’t until I was paddling towards him I just saw this large shark launch itself out of the water, knocking him off. He popped up out of the water immediately, and I went over to him. He was lying prone on his upturned kayak. Thankfully, he was unharmed, but everything he had was knocked out of the kayak.”

“When we reached the shore, we realised how much the kayak had been damaged. We think it was a tiger shark based on the markings. Last month, we spotted a tiger shark’s fin come out of the water while we were paddling in the area,” McMillan said.

– Caxton News Service