Clearance diver Able Seaman Paul De Gelder, 31, was attacked off Sydney Harbour's Garden Island Naval Base while on a training exercise.
It has been confirmed that De Gelder, who was lying on the surface when he was attacked, lost his right hand to the shark. Now, after a period in hospital, his right leg has been amputated after doctors decided that it could not be saved.
De Gelder has thanked diving colleagues who "pulled me out of the water and saved me from what I understand was a 3m bull shark", paramedics who got him to Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital "within an inch of my life", and the "fantastic" doctors and other staff who are conducting his treatment.
Despite an earlier statement by Australian Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Nigel Coates that De Gelder's injuries could spell the end of his career, the diver has expressed to Australian press his desire to return to "what I love - Navy diving".
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