This is the unbelievable moment a daring body boarder was catapulted more than 20ft in the air by a freak wave – leaving him with a burst lung.
Surfer Craig Stroh captured the moment professional body boarder pal Jack Baker’s was wiped out by the swell as he watched from the shore in Cronulla, Sydney, Australia, on Monday (May 22).
Jack, who was riding a small 4ft wave, lost a litre of blood and was rushed to hospital when he was launched 20ft high and 40ft forwards by the impact of a second ‘backwash’ wave hitting him.
And Craig, 42, said he feared the 22-year-old was dead when he witnessed the dramatic moment he was flung back down to the water – hitting the sea at what could have been up to 16mph.
Mechanic Jack, from Cronulla, said: “I had been getting a bit antsy that day because the waves were blowing – I even said to the photographer who was in the water with me ‘this backwash is going to kill someone’.
