But for the people watching, another question remained.
Where was the diver?
The footage did not immediately show him emerging alongside the shark.
The camera had been focused on the enormous animal struggling inside the damaged structure.
The diver's escape had occurred underwater, outside the clearest part of the camera's view.
To someone watching only the most dramatic seconds of the recording, the situation could appear disastrous.
A shark had broken through the bars.
It had thrashed inside the enclosure.
Then it had burst upward through the top.
The person who had been inside was not immediately visible.
That uncertainty gave the video much of its emotional force.
The viewers could see the danger but not yet the outcome.
However, the absence of the diver from the frame did not mean he had been attacked.
He had already left the cage through the lower opening.
While the shark was forcing its way upward, the diver was outside the enclosure.
The two had taken different escape routes.
The shark went out through the top.
The diver had gone out through the bottom.
That separation explains how an accident that looked potentially fatal ended without the diver suffering an injury.
Chapter 7: The Man Who Disappeared Underwater
After the shark escaped, attention turned to the missing diver.
The damaged cage remained beside the vessel, but the person who had occupied it was not immediately visible in the dramatic footage.
For anyone watching the recording without knowing the outcome, this was perhaps the most unsettling part of the incident.
The animal had escaped.
The human being had apparently disappeared.
But beneath the surface, the diver had already accomplished the most important part of his escape.
He had separated himself from the shark.
The opening beneath the cage had provided a route away from the trapped animal.
Once outside, he remained in the surrounding water while the shark continued its struggle.
This was an unusual survival situation.
Ordinarily, the metal cage was supposed to provide protection by keeping the shark outside.
After the collision, however, the cage itself had become the most dangerous place for the diver to remain.
The animal's large body and violent movements made the confined space hazardous.
The open water, despite its own risks, gave the diver an opportunity to move away.
The sequence did not involve the shark pursuing the man after he escaped.
There was no documented second attack.
Nor did the available account describe a prolonged underwater chase.