Brisbane fishermen hailed heroes after ‘hectic’ rescue of three men in shark-infested waters

Sharks were seen ‘jumping out of the water’ around the boats during the rescue operation.

Two Brisbane fishermen are being hailed heroes after rescuing three men from shark-infested waters off Moreton Bay over the weekend.

Sam Hortz and Robbie Angel were out fishing on their respective boats when they spotted a capsized boat surrounded by sharks. In footage of the dramatic moment, one of the fishermen can be heard describing the scene as “hectic”.

The duo acted quickly when they noticed the three men in the water, pulling them quickly to safety.

Speaking on Sunrise on Tuesday, Hortz credited Robbie for being first on the scene.

“All credit to Robbie first. He was first on site. I was travelling behind him. To be honest, we just all went in shock,” Hortz said.

While Angel pulled the men to safety, Hortz attempted to save the capsized vessel by hooking it to his boat.

However, the weight and water pressure began pulling his boat under, forcing him to cut it free.

“The pressure of the water and the weight of that boat was starting to pull my boat under, so I had to cut it free. It was just unsafe for me to hang onto that boat anymore,” he said.

It is believed several bull sharks were actively circling the boats during the rescue operation.

“They’re very, very lucky,” Hortz said, adding that the predators were “jumping out of the water around our boat while this was all happening”.

Hortz said sharks are becoming increasingly common around fishing spots in the area, noting the pair often struggle to even “get a fish to the boat”.

The rescued men have since reached out to their saviours, offering to come and drop some beers off to the pair.

Hortz said they were “pretty shook up”, noting that one more minute in the water could have ended in tragedy.

Spike in shark attacks

The rescue comes after a spate of shark attacks in NSW earlier this month.

A 12-year-old boy was fatally bitten by a suspected bull shark in Sydney Harbour on January 18.

The next day, an 11-year-old narrowly escaped injury when a shark took a large chunk out of his surfboard at Dee Why Point.

Later the same day, 27-year-old surfer Andre de Ruyter, was dragged underwater during a shark attack at Manly Beach. He was pulled unconscious from the water by fellow surfers and rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.

Less than 24 hours later, 39-year-old surfer, Paul Zvirzdinas, was reportedly bitten by an “animal” while in the water at Point Plomer Beach, south of Crescent Head. He managed to drive himself to Kempsey District Hospital and was soon discharged.