Diver pinned by great white shark off Ocean Reef | 7NEWS
Dec 28, 2025
A diver was pinned to the ocean floor by a great white shark off Ocean Reef, with the shark circling him for approximately 10 minutes while his oxygen depleted. Tanvir Dillon wedged himself in a ledge to hide from the predator before eventually signalling his dive mates and making it safely back to the boat. Despite the terrifying encounter, the experienced diver emphasises the importance of staying calm during such crises and respects that divers are visitors in the shark's territory.
Good evening. A diver has been pinned to the ocean floor by a great white shark off Ocean Reef.
As the shark circled, the oxygen in Tanvir Dhillon's tank was quickly running out.
He spoke exclusively with Brianna in Ferrara.
It's a terrifying sight from the side of a boat.
Oh my God, big great ****.
Well, Shane needs to get out of the water.
Let alone coming face to face with the ocean predator beneath the water.
I see a great white grinning straight at me.
Yes, my heart goes in my mouth and that memory is forever etched in my mind.
And I still feel the shivers when I see that moment the shark was there.
Experienced diver Tanvir Dhillon found himself
just metres away from this very shark on Sunday off Ocean Reef.
He says the ocean giant rammed him into a sandbank.
It's more like being pushed and shoved into the ground.
My first instinct was, why is my dive buddy kicking me, honestly?
So I turned around and when I saw that it was not a person, it was a shark,
it was sheer panic, sheer fear.
Tanvir wedged himself in a ledge to hide from the shark.
It circled him for about 10 minutes, the oxygen in his tank depleting second by second.
I did say a prayer and said, if I get out of this situation,
I'm never going to put myself in this position again because you're helpless.
You're completely helpless.
With the shark out of sight and spotting his dive mates,
Tanvir raised the alarm, urging them to swim to the safety of their boat.
His eyes were quite wide, his regulator was out of his mouth.
I thought, what is going on?
Tanvir wants to educate other divers on how to stay calm during a crisis.
If I would have done the knee jerk reaction and gone straight for the surface,
I feel fairly confident it would have gone for me.
Despite his terrifying encounter, the 39-year-old says the shark isn't the villain.
This is the shark's territory, right?
And we are just visitors over there and understanding that we have to be mindful of that.
Tanvir's frightening ordeal hasn't stopped the avid diver from doing what he loves,
but he admits it will be some time before he gets back in the water.
I do need more time to process but
if you know someone that's looking for dive gear, let me know.
Brianna Inferrera, Seven News.