SYDNEY, Oct 29 (NNN-XINHUA) – Two British men are in a serious condition, following a shark attack on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in Queensland today.
The foot of one of the men was bitten off, while the other sustained “serious lacerations” to his lower leg, a representative for the rescue helicopter said.
The men had been “wrestling and thrashing about” in a body of water called Hook Passage, in the Whitsundays region when the attack occurred.
Both men, who are tourists from Britain, were transferred to Mackay Base Hospital by helicopter, in a serious but stable condition.
In a statement, tour boat operator, ZigZag Whitsundays confirmed that the men were passengers of one of their cruises, and were snorkelling at the time the attack occurred.
“We are saddened to confirm that two of our guests were injured in a shark attack this morning. Our thoughts are with them, their families and the other guests on the tour,” the tour operator said.
The attack came amid a sustained debate regarding the best way to control shark activity in the area.
In Nov, 2018, a man was fatally attacked by a shark, at Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays, where just two months before, a woman and a young girl were bitten in separate attacks, with the girl, who was aged 12, requiring amputation of her leg.– NNN-XINHUA