Doctors in tour group rush to save man mauled by shark in the Whitsundays
Doctors in a tour group desperately tried to save a man who was mauled by a shark after jumping off a paddleboard in the Whitsunday Islands.
The 33-year old man was bitten by a shark while swimming at Cid Harbour about 5.30pm on Monday.
Police have revealed that two doctors in his group tried to save his life after the vicious attack.
Two doctors on the man’s boat administered immediate first aid, before the man was helicoptered to the Mackay Base Hospital where he died due to substantial blood loss and severe injuries.
The man was with a group of 10 people travelling from Airlie Beach to Amity Point in a sailing boat, when it stopped at Cid Harbour.
The man and a woman were taking turns paddleboarding when the man jumped off and started swimming in the water. He was then bitten by the shark, whose species is yet unknown.
A group of French-speaking tourists in a nearby vessel came to his aid. The group launched a tender and brought the pair back to their boat.
The Whitsunday Water Police will be patrolling Cid Harbour with vessels from other Queensland and Commonwealth Government agencies on Tuesday.
The patrols are designed to “provide reassurance to the boating community and tourists on the water”, Queensland Police said.
Whitsunday Police are interviewing witnesses and will prepare a report for the coroner.
This is the third serious shark attack in the area in the past two months. It comes after a 46-year-old woman and 12-year-old girl were mauled by sharks in Cid Harbour in September.
