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A man is fighting for his life in hospital after suffering “catastrophic” injuries from a shark attack.
The 59-year-old undergoes emergency surgery after a deadly shark tore his thigh off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
He had been spearfishing in a boat with a friend on the Britomart reef, north of Brisbane, when the disaster struck, according to local news reports.
Authorities described her condition as critical with catastrophic bleeding.
Paramedics rushed to Ozzy’s Reef around 12 p.m. today after an emergency beacon was activated. A rescue helicopter was also deployed.
The man was taken back to shore at Dungeness Boatramp in Townsville, where he was immediately airlifted to Townsville Hospital.
Queensland Police Andrew Cary told 9 News: “I was on a boat with a friend spearfishing at the time of the attack.”
Paramedic David Humphreys added: “The obvious concern was a catastrophic bleeding that we did everything possible to stop and control.
“But knowing that the ultimate care is surgery for this patient, we also wanted to stabilize him as much as we could.”
This year is Australia’s deadliest year for shark attacks since 2014, with seven deaths recorded to date.
The most recent person to die from a shark attack in Oz was 52-year-old Andrew Sharpe, who was attacked while sailing with friends on the Kelp Beds in Western Australia.
(Image: Getty Images / Image Source)
Last year saw three shark attacks in the Whitsundays.
Following previous shark attacks, Australia’s tourism industry called for more measures, such as planes or drones, to monitor swimmers and alert them to sharks in the water.
Other suggestions included swim nets in island areas and a test of SMART drum lines.
The shark control method is designed not to be lethal and to send an alert when a shark has been caught on the line that is anchored to the bottom of the sea.
Last year, the state government decided to remove SMART drums from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in September following a federal court decision.
This was because fishing staff would be at risk when trying to release the sharks.
But the decision was made in February to reinstall the conventional lines, allowing them to exercise discretion over whether a shark could be released.
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