It’s been another – but it was nearly for all the wrong reasons as a TV star diced a little too much with death.
As part of Shark Week 2024, – but one star got far too close for comfort.
Shark Week is an annual tradition in the US TV calendar these days, with the Discovery Channel since 1988.
The shows have gotten bigger and more dangerous year after year, and an incident during this year’s programming might be sending Shark Week producers back to the drawing board.
Dr Riley Elliot, a TV personality in America, was lowered into water containing the beasts when the gap between the bars was suddenly wide enough for a shark to get in.
What happened next shook viewers to their cores, as Riley’s oxygen tank was damaged while a shark bashed against the gap in the cage trying to get in.
Soon enough, bubbles rose to the surface, indicating to the boat crew that something might be very seriously wrong with the TV doctor.
With Riley’s colleagues worried he might actually have been torn to bits, they brought him back to the surface as quickly as they possibly could.
Once he was back above the water, Riley explained what had happened: ‘That shark came and just smashed straight into the cage and ruptured my secondary air supply!’
In footage shown as part of the show called Big Shark Energy, Riley can be seen pushing the shark away urgently in a desperate bid to save his own life.
He continued: ‘Holy s**t! That was intense. That’s changed the dynamic. I feel like I want to get back in [the water] and get a new tank – something special is about to happen.’
In response, YouTube user CaperGal1360 said: ‘Why the hell is Riley opening the cage big enough for the shark to get in? A recipe for disaster!’
JoaoMariaNunes commented: ‘What do you think would happen with that gap big enough for almost 2 sharks to pass?!’
It’s then revealed that the entire operation is a game to see which shark in the water can hit the cages most often, but the sharks remain interested in trying to go one step further.
Back in the water, Riley notices a shark trying to get at him again, saying ‘It’s trying to get into the cage! That shark is truly fearless!’
However, the sharks then divert their attention from the cages onto each other, with a male shark apparently attempting to court a female shark during the game.
Riley lived to fight another day after seeing the ‘holy grail’ of sea life.
