An Aussie professional surfer grabbed by a large shark in South Africa is the cousin of Northland's National candidate Mark Osborne.
Mick Fanning was waiting for a wave in the final of a surfing contest in Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa when a large shark, believed to be a great white, grabbed the leash connecting Fanning to his board.
Fanning was shown on live television struggling to get away from the shark, before he disappeared under the water.
He surfaced and was grabbed by a support vessel in the water.
Mark Osborne, who was National's candidate in the recent Northland byelection, told the NZ Herald said he had contacted his aunty - Fanning's mother, who lives in Australia.
