Incident Halts World Surf League New Zealand Pro Finals
The World Surf League's New Zealand Pro event, scheduled between April and December, experienced an unexpected interruption during the finals day when a photographer was attacked in the water by a sea creature, believed by organisers to be either a shark or a sea lion.
The attack occurred while Brazilian surfers Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira were competing in the men's semi-finals in Raglan on New Zealand's North Island.
Following the incident, a 'code red' was activated, and the event was temporarily suspended as medical teams attended to the situation.
Response and Medical Attention
Renato Hickel, World Surf League vice-president of tours and competition, reported that the photographer sustained "small puncture wounds" and was transported to hospital by ambulance.
"We activate the code red when it's a sea life attack on a surfer or a photographer. This time it was our beloved water photographer and thank God he's in good spirits. He's well considering what happened," Hickel said during the WSL broadcast.
Hickel further commented on the uncertainty regarding the exact nature of the animal involved in the attack.
"At this stage we're not certain if it was a shark or a sea lion. The doctor that was here helping on the scene was inclined to think it was a sea lion instead of a shark.
Nevertheless very scary. Italo and Yago were very shaken. They saw the splash and the incident, so another reason to put the event on hold.
Hopefully we can wrap the event today."
