'He kept shouting': Witness describes gruesome moment tourists were attacked by shark
A witness has recalled the horrifying moment two British men were mauled by a shark in Queensland’s north.
Chien Wang, 22, was on a boat tour with the two friends and 17 other tourists when they were set upon by a shark while snorkelling at Hook Passage, off Airlie Beach in the Whitsunday region, about 10.20am on Tuesday.
“At first I found it not really serious. Then he kept shouting. Everyone seemed to be scared,” Ms Wang told the Whitsunday Times.
She said one of the men repeatedly shouted “shark, shark” right before they were set upon.
The two men who were attacked have been identified as Alistair Raddon, 28 and Danny Maggs, 22.
Mr Raddon’s foot was completely bitten off while Mr Maggs suffered severe lacerations to his calf.
The pair were pulled back on board where two Swedish paramedics administered first aid, tying tourniquets to stem the bleeding.
The pair were later flown to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Men in ‘good spirits’ following attack
Paramedic Steve Thurtell told reporters the pair were in "good spirits" when they were brought to shore.
"Fortunately, not only were the staff on board trained in first aid, there were two international paramedics on board the vessel at the time who were able to render immediate and substantial first aid," Mr Thurtell said.
The men were conscious during their ordeal and joked with paramedics about Australia’s exit from the Rugby World cup at the hands of England.
News Corp shared an image of Mr Maggs smiling to the camera inside the helicopter.
The attack has received wide coverage in the British press with The Sun reporting the attack as a "shark rampage" while the Daily Express reported a "terrifying shark launches a brutal attack".
The Whitsundays region has been the site of five other shark attacks since last September.
Calls for action to protect public
The attack has revived debate about how to protect people from sharks in their habitat.
Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan says governments at all levels are failing to protect locals and tourists.
"We are going to have more and more of this happening until governments put public safety as their number one priority," he told AAP.
He wants Queensland's controversial shark control program, which has drum lines along parts of the coast, beefed up and extended.
Neither Hook Passage nor Airlie Beach have ever been part of the shark control program.
Drum lines were removed from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park earlier this year after the Humane Society successfully challenged the program in that federally controlled area.
The attack comes one year after Victorian doctor Daniel Christidis was fatally mauled by a shark in the Whitsundays.
His death came just months after Tasmanian woman Justine Barwick and Melbourne girl Hannah Papps were bitten in separate attacks in the region in September last year.
With AAP
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