As if sharks were not enough to worry about: Australian surfer hospitalised after being rammed by a dolphin

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Daily Mail Reporter

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A surfer had to be airlifted to hospital after he was rammed from below by a bottlenose dolphin at a remote beach south of Sydney.

John Wolfson says he was paddling out past the breaking waves at Bawley Point, near Bateman’s Bay on the NSW South Coast, when he spotted a pod of bottlenose dolphins playing nearby.

One of the dolphins dived beneath the surface before charging into the surfer with enough force to tear his tough neoprene wetsuit. Adult bottlenose dolphins weigh up to 500kg and can swim at speeds of up to 30km/h.

Surfer injured by dolphin

Mr Wolfson said the force of the impact was so severe that he thought he had broken his back

The impact left the 27-year-old doubled over in pain, with his friends having to help him back to shore where he waited over an hour for medical assistance.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the remote location of the beach, with the first 4WD ambulance becoming bogged in soft sand meaning a second car had to be dispatched.

Mr Wolfson was taken to a local hospital where doctors were so concerned by his injuries that he was airlifted to the bigger St George hospital for further treatment.

Mr Wolfson’s friend, surf photographer Jason Corroto, told MailOnline he was watching from the beach when he spotted a huge splash and realised his friend was in trouble.

‘He could not move at all. He thought he had broken his ribs,’ he said.

The pod of bottlenose dolphins, one of which injured Mr Wolfson

It took ambulance officers more than hour to arrive, with the first car getting bogged in the soft sand

‘I was watching from the beach and we didn’t know what was going on. There was just this big splash.

‘We’d seen plenty of dolphins out there. It was just a freak accident.’

Mr Wolfson spent the night in hospital where he was treated for treated for two fractured ribs. He told Channel Seven the incident wouldn’t keep him from the water.

‘I love dolphins,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t on purpose. They were surfing the waves and I just got in its way (when) I was paddling out.

‘I don’t think it saw me. It was just the wrong place at the wrong time, you know?’

Surfer John Wolfson was celebrating his 27th birthday when he was rammed by a bottlenose dolphin

Surfer John Wolfson catches a wave in a picture taken by his friend Jason Corroto

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As if sharks were not enough to worry about: Australian surfer hospitalised after being rammed by a dolphin