To the rescue of a man-eater

Photo / Doug Sherring

A great white shark that washed up on a beach in Australia survived when two men pushed it back into the water - only to be discovered dead on the beach the next day.

The 3m shark was spotted on a beach on the mid-north coast in New South Wales by Andrew Eckersley who, with another beachgoer, rushed to try to save it.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph about the incident, Mr Eckersley said although he was scared, he felt it was the right thing to do.

"It was pretty scary at first. This guy in a wetsuit was sort of baling water on to its back by hand and digging out a hole for it on the ocean side.

"It was pretty big. I wouldn't have been able to put my fingers together if I was giving it a cuddle."

The two men struggled to get the beast back out to sea, so used logs to try to lever the shark out of the sand.

"There was the thought while we were getting the logs under it that I might pinch it or something and it would lunge at me," Mr Eckersley said.

After that failed to get the shark moving, the pair began pulling it towards the water, when it started to "perk up again", he said.

A photographer, Ruth Fahey, captured the incident.

However, despite the men's actions, the shark was found dead on the same beach the next day.

An expert said it was likely the shark was already sick before it came ashore.

- NZ Herald staff