In this case, the shark thrashed against the cage while trying to escape.
The animal's movements were visible from the boat, but the diver's position was much harder to determine.
The camera captured the shark's struggle rather than a complete underwater view of the diver's escape.
That distinction matters.
The footage documented the collision and the shark's eventual exit, but it did not provide a continuous, unobstructed view of everything happening beneath the surface.
As the animal struggled, the diver found an opening at the bottom of the cage.
He used that opening to leave the enclosure.
The escape was extraordinary because it separated him from the shark at the moment the animal was trying to force its way out.
Instead of remaining trapped in the confined structure, he moved into the surrounding water.
This was not an ordinary exit from a routine dive.
The cage had been damaged.
A large shark was struggling inside it.
And the diver needed to avoid the animal's unpredictable movements.
The available account does not establish precisely how many seconds passed between the shark's entry and the diver's exit.
Nor does it provide a detailed description of every movement he made underwater.
But the essential sequence is clear.
The shark entered.
The diver escaped through the lower opening.
And while the animal continued struggling inside the cage, the man was already outside it.
The situation remained dangerous.
The diver was now in open water, beyond the protection of the cage.
But he was no longer sharing the confined enclosure with the thrashing shark.
That difference would prove decisive.
Chapter 6: The Shark Bursts Above the Surface
From the boat, the crew and passengers witnessed the most dramatic visible moment of the accident.
The shark continued struggling inside the damaged cage.
Then its movements carried it upward.
The animal emerged through the open top of the enclosure.
For an instant, a large portion of the shark's body rose above the surface.
Water poured from its skin as it pushed upward through the opening.
Its body was clearly visible against the side of the vessel.
The scene was startling.
A great white shark that had been swimming freely through the ocean moments earlier was now forcing its way out of a metal cage beside a tour boat.
The footage captured the animal's powerful movements as it cleared the enclosure.
Then the shark fell back into the surrounding water.
The immediate danger inside the cage had ended.