Great White Shark: After being ‘rammed’ by a massive 3.5-metre shark, a swimmer is lucky to be alive

A man survived a terrifying encounter with a monster great white shark at a popular beach after being knocked on his side.

On Sunday afternoon, the swimmer was ‘rammed’ by the 3.5-metre predator 150 metres offshore from Melros Beach in Perth’s south.

‘A great white shark rammed a male in the side off the back of the reef at Melros Beach Mandurah,’ Surf Life Saving WA tweeted.

‘There were no injuries to the swimmer; this is for the benefit of other swimmers in the Melros area south of Mandurah.’

According to the Department of Fisheries Shark Operation Unit, the encounter occurred at nearby Florida Beach, which is about a kilometre north of Melros.

‘To reduce the risk to people, Florida Beach has been closed and will remain closed for the next 24 hours while the City of Mandurah assesses the situation,’ an alert stated.

The department also stated that it will collaborate with local authorities on a coordinated response and has dispatched a Surf Life Saving team to monitor the area.

Locals believed the swimmer’s encounter with a tiger shark was more likely, as sightings in the shallow reef area are uncommon.

‘There aren’t many whites, they’re usually out way deep, and they come in if there are schools of fish,’ a local told The West Australian.

‘They go where there is food.’ It was obviously not interested in the person it bumped into; that is not predatory behaviour.’

Another stated that he sees great whites in the area about once a month.

A 29-year-old surfer was mauled by a shark off the coast of Mandurah six years ago.

It comes almost three weeks after British expat Simon Nellist was killed by a 4.5-metre great white shark while swimming off Little Bay in Sydney’s east.

It was Sydney’s first fatal shark attack in nearly six decades.