American Attacked by Shark Off Australia's Coast: 'I'm Very Lucky'

An American who was attacked by a “gigantic” shark off Australia's coast early Wednesday admitted she felt “very lucky” after suffering only minor injuries.

“It just snuck up and I felt a large impact,” Lily Kumpe, 37, told NBC News. “It was incredibly strong… I was laying down paddling and then it hit me and I fell off into the water.”

The creature took a bite out of her board as she surfed with her husband Mike Taylor, 45, off Ocean Beach in Denmark, Australia, at around 9:30 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday).

"I just saw something come up and lunge at her," said Taylor, who hails from Lacey, Washington. "The next thing I knew Lily was screaming in the water."

While her face, hands and feet were cut and both of her shins bruised, Kumpe said she was “very lucky that I’ve not been badly injured.”

Kumpe, who is originally from South Padre Island, Texas, added that she could not be sure whether it was the shark or her surfboard that had caused the injuries.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

The pair had been in the water for around 15 minutes when the shark struck. After swimming to shore, Kumpe was taken to a nearby hospital. She was later discharged.

Although the creature “seemed gigantic,” Kumpe said that she did not get a good look at it. She initially thought it might have been a dolphin from a pod they'd seen earlier.

But after examining the surfboard, Kumpe said officials with the Department of Fisheries told her “it was definitely a shark.”

The couple work in the mining industry and have lived Down Under for more than a decade.