Tourist suffers horrific facial injuries after being hit by monster wave
A tourist has suffered horrific facial injuries after she was swept off her feet by huge seas on the Gold Coast.
Dangerous swells continue to build and overnight wild storms batter the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
The 55-year-old woman sustained the injuries following towering waves at Snapper Rocks on Saturday.
Dozens of stunned witnesses watched on as the woman was treated for her severe injuries.
"Half her forehead was off down to her eye," witness David Cooper revealed.
"The lady just face-planted all the way down those sharp jagged rocks there," bystander Pete Gill recalled.
At Burleigh, the treachorous conditions claimed another victim, this time in the shape of a surfer's board.
"Took off on a wave and pulled in, didn't make it, just popped up and my board was in half," surfer Reece said.
Forecasts suggest Sunday's waves could be twice the size with Surf Life Saving Queensland warning beachgoers to stay safe.
"If you're inexperienced don't go in the water – it's just too powerful," lifeguard Kevin Sole said.
While the cyclone responsible for the giant swell is a far way off the Queensland Coast, not only is the impact visible, but also felt in the air. Temperatures on the coast may have eased but further west there has been no such reprieve.
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Temperatures on Saturday in Longreach topped 41.4C, while Cloncurry reached 43.3C and Birdsville burned at 44.4C.
In the south-east, lightning danced across the evening sky, an electrifying encore to storms that smashed the Sunshine Coast Hunterland.
