An Australian surf club is urging friends of a man killed in a freak shark attack to get back on their boards as part of their dedicated ‘healing’ process.
Last Saturday (September 6), Mercury Psillakis, a 57-year-old accountant, was killed by a shark while surfing off a popular beach in northern Sydney.
Australian biologists confirmed the white shark that took the man’s life at Long Reef Beach was around 3.4-3.6 metres in length, according to the NSW Department of Primary Industries.
After the attack, Psillakis’ body and surfboard were recovered from the water and brought to the shore near Dee Why by lifeguards and the friends he was out in the water with, The Mirror reported.
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It’s understood the father-of-one - described as ‘stoic and heroic to the end’ - was missing ‘a number of limbs’ due to the attack, and that no attempt at resuscitation was made.
Just seconds before being brutally tugged away by the animal at around 10am, Psillakis is said to have gathered up the six people he was surfing with to warn them that a shark was approaching, the Australian Daily Telegraph reported.
The outlet explained that the veteran surfer tried to corral his surfing buddies together for safety reasons.
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“He was at the back of the pack still trying to everyone together when the shark just lined him up,” explained close friend Toby Martin.
He told MailOnline that the white shark came ‘straight from behind and breached and dropped straight on him’, alleging it was a ‘worst-case scenario’.
“They normally come from the side, but this one came straight from behind, breached and dropped on him. It was so quick.”
Officials were quick to close the Australian beach, with The Northern Beaches Council writing at the time: "Notification by NSW (New South Wales) government: Shark Smart app that tagged a shark in the vicinity.”
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Martin claimed that the Dee Why community and the eyewitnesses who watched the fatal attack continue to be severely impacted.
“The impact this has had on the six and the community is huge, the six surfers Mercury helped save are processing their trauma,” he confessed to The Daily Telegraph.
“Some of them are doing it tough, some tougher than others, but they are strong.”
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Martin heartbreakingly added that his own 10-year-old daughter has been asking him not to ‘get back in the surf’, explaining that she didn’t want him ‘to die’.
The pro-surfer has advocated for a grieving plan set up by the Long Reef Boardriders’ Association (LRSA). The club, established in 1973, is urging athletes and the wider Dee Why community to attend group counselling sessions to kickstart the ‘healing’ process.
Martin said that the counselling will also offer ‘support to take a deep breath and get back in the water as part of the healing process’.
“You walk into the storm and it passes quicker than if you were to walk away from it.
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“This is not only the loss of a mate, they six are heroes too – they helped bring Merc’s body back to shore,” he added.
On Monday (September 8), Psillakis’s identical twin, Mike, penned a heartbreaking tribute via Instagram.
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He remarked how he and his brother shared ‘the same soul’.
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“We had our own language and shared the same dreams, literally…” he said. “He would be the life at every party. The pure energy from him could be felt in every corner.
He loved his wife Maria and [son] Freedom so very much. Please send them support in any way you can.”
A GoFundMe has since been set up to support the Psillakis Family with funeral costs and to raise funds for Freedom’s future educational needs.
“Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ease the financial burden on his family during this heartbreaking time,” the page read.
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“We thank you for your kindness, generosity and love. Merc touched countless lives and together we can honour his memory by supporting the family he loved so deeply.”
You can donate to Mercury Psillakis’s GoFundMe page here.
Topics: Animals, Australia, World News, Mental Health, Community, Shark
Ella Scott