A man has been airlifted to hospital after he was bitten by a shark while snorkelling at a popular island off the Queensland coast.
A man in his 50s suffered lacerations and puncture wounds to his arm and abdomen during the terrifying ordeal at a shallow reef off Lady Elliot Island at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef on Thursday morning.
He managed to swim to shore and was flown by LifeFlight to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition.
Photos showed the man sitting on a stretcher being assessed by LifeFlight critical care medical team before he was airlifted.
The species of the shark involved is not known.
The man and the group he was snorkelling with were from a private vessel. They were not guests staying at the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort.
‘The men swam ashore and alerted staff that one of them had been bitten by a shark,’ a resort statement read.
‘Lady Elliot Island staff provided immediate assistance, stabilised the man and helped coordinate an emergency response.
A snorkeller was bitten by a shark off Lady Elliot Island on Thursday morning
The man (pictured) was airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition
The LifeFlight medical team treated the snorkeller for lacerations and puncture wounds
‘Resort staff and marine shark experts are monitoring the closed snorkel zone and all in-house resort guests have been informed.’
The 45 hectare island is home to a small eco resort and an airstrip serviced daily by flights from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The island is also a popular snorkelling and scuba diving hotspot.
While its thriving marine diversity includes 30 shark species, attacks are not common.
‘In the lagoon you are likely to see Epaulette sharks, grey carpet sharks, blacktip and white tip reef sharks while on the western side of the island you can see Tawny nurse sharks, blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks and more,’ the island resort website states.
