A shark attack in northeastern Australia has left two British tourists, who were on a snorkeling tour, injured, with one losing his foot.
The tourists, ages 22 and 28, were snorkeling near Airlie Beach in the state of Queensland, Australia when a shark suddenly attacked them. According to a statement from regional tourism organization Tourism Whitsundays, the passengers of the tour boat were taken to Hook Passage, a popular snorkeling spot just off the coast by the Whitsunday Islands.
The 22-year-old was first attacked by the shark, which resulted to lacerations on his lower leg. It then proceeded to attack the other man, biting off his foot.
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland, which coordinated the helicopter rescue, said the tourists had been "wrestling and thrashing about in the water in Hook Passage when the attack occurred." Luckily, two passengers on board the boat were paramedics and they provided immediate first aid to the victims.
According to the Queensland Ambulance Service, the two men were airlifted to Mackay Hospital by helicopter, with one patient in a stable condition and the other in a "serious" situation.
The tour group operator ZigZag Whitsundays has expressed in a statement that it "saddened" by the incident, saying: "Our thoughts are with them, their families and the other guests on the tour." The operator decided to suspend the remaining tours for the day and "will work closely with authorities regarding our upcoming tours."
The Whitsunday Islands have been known for shark attacks in the recent past, including a man who died in November 2018 after jumping into the water from his paddle board and two separate incidents in September of the same year that left two people with leg injuries.
Last year, Steve O'Connell, a local inspector, claimed that state authorities caught and killed six sharks in the area after the three attacks.
