An English man had his foot torn off in a brutal shark attack off the coast of Australia, authorities have confirmed.
He and another British tourist suffered serious injuries when they were attacked in water surrounding the popular paradise Whitsunday islands off the north-eastern coast in Queensland.
The second man was left with ‘serious lacerations to his lower leg’.
The men have been named as Alistair Raddon, 28, from Southampton, who had his right foot ‘amputated’ in the attack.
Danny Maggs, 22, from Plymouth, suffered severe cuts in the attack.
Both men are now recovering in hospital and are said to be in a ‘serious but stable condition’.
The shark attack happened at around 10.17am on Tuesday local time – 8.17pm on Monday night in the UK – while the pair were in the water near Hook Passage, a body of water between Whitsunday Island and Hook Island which is popular with snorkelers.
The pair were said to be taking part in a ZigZag day cruise, and were playing and thrashing about in the ocean when the shark bit one of them, then returned to bite the other.
Witnesses said a total of 20 people were on board the tour boat but it is unclear how many were in the water at the time, or what type of shark attacked.
Two paramedics on board the tour boat applied pressure to the injured men’s wounds until the boat returned to Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach.
The men were airlifted from Airlie beach by helicopter to a hospital in the city of Mackay, around 70 miles away.
In a statement, the tour company said: ‘We are saddened to confirm that two of our guests were injured in a shark attack this morning.
‘Our thoughts are with them, their families and the other guests on the tour.
‘We are working with authorities to assist in any way we can.
‘We have suspended our tours for today and will work closely with authorities regarding our upcoming tours.’
Hook Passage is about 11km from Cid Harbour, where two women were attacked and one man was killed by a shark last year.
Daniel Christidis, 33, died last November after being attacked at Cid Harbour during a trip with friends and colleagues.
In separate attacks within 24 hours in September at Cid Harbour, Justine Barwick and Hannah Papps, 12, were also injured.
