- Bystander Blake Donaldson leaped into the ocean to save Mangyon “Mani” Zhang, 57, after she had been mauled by a bull shark at Gunyah Beach in Bundeena, Australia, on March 7
- According to a new interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Zhang had been swimming 10 meters from shore when the shark bit her leg
- Zhang called Donaldson her ‘lifesaver’ and ‘hero’
A man is being celebrated as a hero after saving a woman from being attacked by a bull shark.
In a new interview with 60 Minutes Australia released Saturday, April 26, Blake Donaldson opened up about the moment he leaped into the water to rescue Mangyon “Mani” Zhang.
57-year-old Zhang had been swimming 10 meters from shore at Gunyah Beach in Bundeena, Australia, on March 7 when her right leg was viciously attacked by a bull shark.
Zhang, who revealed 38 cm of the shark’s jaw had bitten into her right leg, didn’t feel the creature’s grip at the time, adding that she thought she had been stung.
She went on to say that she got a “very eerie feeling” that something had moved past her.
“I was so scared. I said, ‘Oh, what’s that?’” Zhang told 60 Minutes. “And then I just saw…lots and lots of blood coming out, and the water just became too red and red and red. I was so scared by then.”
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Realizing that she had been bitten by a shark, Zhang froze as she didn’t want the shark to come back but after a minute, she screamed for help, prompting Donaldson to spring into action, per the outlet.
The hero and his partner, Ellen Melchert, were the only other people at the beach at the time.
Hearing the screams, Donaldson jumped straight into the water and headed for the blood, telling 60 Minutes, he didn’t question his actions.
“I just [had] to jump in,” he said. “The fight or flight kicks in, and I just made the decision, sure there could be a shark but my reaction was, ‘I just have to save this woman.’”
“I wasn’t thinking about the shark, I wasn’t thinking about my own safety, I just can’t watch this woman drown,” he continued. “Either you watch someone drown or you go out and help them. A couple [of] seconds could mean someone’s life.”
After Donaldson had gotten Zhang onto the shore, Melchert applied first aid.
Struggling to stay conscious, the shark victim thought about how she wanted to see her partner Maria at least one more time.
“All of a sudden, I see all of these colors and I can’t see anything else. I think I heard people say, ‘she doesn’t have any pulse.’”
Intensive care paramedic Marco Aielli, who was called to the scene, said Zhang had lost a “catastrophic amount” of blood, adding that her blood pressure was going down.
Zhang told 60 Minutes that she was surprised she was still alive after waking up from her first surgery.
Reuniting with Donaldson and Melchert over a month after the accident, Zhang — who also said she was so grateful to still have her leg — thanked them for saving her life.
“Nah, you don’t have to thank me,” he laughed, to which Zhang replied, “You saved my life. Words…cannot express … how thankful I am.”
“We’re just so glad you’re okay,” Melchert added.
“My lifesaver and hero,” Zhang told Donaldson to which he replied, “They say, ‘You’re a hero.’ I don’t think about it, but then it sort of does hit you and makes you realize you did save someone,” Donaldson said.
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