BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- An Australian man poked a great white shark in the eye and escaped from its jaws, media reported Monday.

    Jason Cull, 37, said he mistook a dark shape approaching him for a dolphin as he swam about 80 meters off the popular Middleton beach in Western Australia on Saturday.

    He did not realized it was a shark until the four-meter monster closed in, and grabbed him by the leg and dragged him under the water.

    "I just remember being dragged backwards underwater. I felt along it, I found its eye and I poked it in the eye, and that's when it let go," said Cull.

    Joanne Lucas, 50, heard Cull's cries for help as she arrived at the beach and immediately dived in to rescue him.

    "He had huge chunks taken out of his leg, his calf and the knee," Lucas said.

    The victim underwent surgery at a regional hospital and was expected to make a full recovery.

    Middleton beach remained closed Monday as at least three great white sharks cruised offshore, fisheries officials said.

    A teenaged surfer was killed in a shark attack last month, bringing the death toll in Australia since 2000 to 12, according to the U.S.-based International Shark Attack File.

    (Agencies)