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'It was a lucky escape': Giant fish drags boy underwater

A 10-year-old boy had an incredibly lucky escape after surviving being pulled underwater by a massive fish.

The child was swimming underneath a jetty at Seisia Wharf, in Cape York, in North Queensland, on Thursday last week when a grouper known to frequent the area took a bite of him.

The fish, reportedly about one metre in length, released the boy from its grip but left him with lacerations and suffering shock, Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

Northern Area Peninsula Mayor Eddie Newman said kids on school holidays swimming in the water beneath the jetty was “a new one for us”, with council having erected warning sings following the attack.

“From talking to the mother, he (the fish) dragged him under and let him go. He was very lucky. It was a lucky escape. It was a wake-up call for (the Department of Transport and Main Roads) and the Port Authority,” Mr Newman told the publication.

Seisa Wharf in Cape York, Queensland, pictured alongside grouper after one pulled boy under water.
The massive grouper is local to Seisa Wharf in Cape York. Source: Youtube/MNF 4X4 & File/Getty Images

He said the child was taken to hospital where he was treated for some minor injuries.

Former commercial fisherman, Thomas Anderson, said while it was rare that a grouper bit a person, it wasn’t completely unheard of.

A man 20 years ago was grabbed around the waist while cleaning the hub of his boat in nearby Princess Charlotte Bay, he said.

“I think he would eat you just for fun,” he said.

The Queensland grouper, which is one of the largest bony fishes in the world, can grow to 2.7 metres in length and weigh more than 400 kilograms.

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