Woman rescued by navy after shark bite horror off Mackay

The quick thinking efforts that saved a woman from potentially life threatening injuries after a shark attack 200km off the Queensland coast have been revealed. SEE THE VIDEO

A Queensland Ambulance officer has praised the quick thinking efforts that saved a woman from potentially life threatening injuries after a shark attack off Mackay’s coast.

A 57-year-old woman suffered two 30cm bite wounds on her calf while snorkelling on a reef about 200km off Mackay’s coast.

It took more than eight hours to get her back to shore in an operation that involved the Australian navy.

There is no information about the size or breed of the shark at this stage.

QAS Mackay district Senior operations supervisor Shane Tucker said first aid was immediately provided by bystanders on the boat she had been on, with others binding her leg with an emergency bandage to “stop the haemorrhage”.

The Anzac-class frigate HMAS Warramunga, which had been undertaking an exercise in waters off Mackay, was called to assist and rendezvoused with the woman about 9.30pm Wednesday. The medical team on board treated her before she was transferred.

A spokesperson for Defence Australia said the crews actions “were in the finest traditions of the Royal Australian Navy”.

Mr Tucker said paramedics did not see the wound as her leg remained wrapped when she was brought to Mackay but it was described as being two 30cm lacerations across the calf.

The bleeding was able to be stopped by the bandage.

“We can’t really comment on the severity of the lacerations but from the description they were quite significant,” Mr Tucker said.

He said that initially intervention had been absolutely critical.

“Sharks have very sharp teeth, I would imagine that the lacerations were quite significant and … it did come through initially as (involving) significant haemorrhage,” Mr Tucker said.

“Obviously if that first aid hadn’t been done appropriately there could have been … risk of major haemorrhage, therefore … the patient could become quite critical from loss of blood.”

He said it was ‘absolutely critical that first aid was done and done well.”

The Australian navy was involved in a marathon rescue effort for a shark victim off the Mackay coastline. Photo: Contributed

Mr Tucker said the emergency call came through just before 4.30pm, about 15 mins after the incident had occurred.

“Obviously being quite a distance away there was quite an extensive co-ordination to retrieve this patient,” Mr Tucker said.

Queensland Ambulance Service Mackay district Senior operations supervisor Shane Tucker reveals the efforts to save a woman from a shark attack off the Queensland coast.

Mr Tucker said it was very fortunate the navy had been nearby to help with her retrieval given the distance where the bite occurred.

The shark attack victim was “quite stable” and did not need any aeromedical evacuation off the boat.

The navy vessel brought her to Mackay, docking in the harbour about 12.45am when she was retrieved by paramedics.

“(She) did have some pain of course to the leg,” he said, adding she was treated for the pain and taken to Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition where she remains.

It is understood she would undergo further treatment today.

Mr Tucker said the woman was alert the whole time despite being in “quite a bit of pain and obviously … shock because of the incident”.

He said QAS was in contact with the patient at all times through its clinical hub.

Mr Tucker said it was fortunate there were no other injures apart from the lower leg wound.

There have been numerous shark attacks in the region over the years.

In October 2021, the victim of a vicious shark attack in the Whitsundays told how admitted he felt ‘it come up and grab onto my leg’ after the beast savagely ripped chunks of his body.

Two years earlier, an English tourist had his foot bitten off and a second man suffered serious lacerations to his lower leg in a horror attack near Hook Island.

The woman suffered multiple lacerations to the lower leg and was taken to Mackay Base Hospital.

The two men, Alistair Raddon, 28 and Danny Maggs, 22, had been wrestling and thrashing about in the water when they were attacked by the shark during a day trip in the Whitsundays.

That incident in Hook Passage, between Hook Island and Whitsunday Island – about 11km from Cid Harbour, where Melbourne man Daniel Christidis died following an attack on November 5, 2018 and two others injured including a 12-year-old girl late last year.

HUGE SHARKS CAUGHT OFF K’GARI

Earlier this year, it was revealed almost 1000 sharks as big as 5m have been caught off Queensland beaches in the past year, with the Capricorn Coast easily claiming the dubious title of the state’s shark capital.

The government of the time was looking to unleash new technology, including AI-armed drones, in a bid to keep beachgoers safe from the shark menace.

Nearly 90 sharks were caught on drumlines off Tannum Sands beach near Gladstone in 2023. More than 240 sharks – or almost 25 per cent – were caught on drumlines off the Capricorn Coast as part of the state’s shark control program in 2023.

They included two 4-5m monsters and 12 sharks measuring 3-4m, including 57 whalers, 44 tigers and a great white.

But Tannum Sands near Gladstone was the state’s most sharky beach, with 87 caught in drumlines almost double the number caught the year before.

Other shark hotspots included Townsville, where 180 sharks were caught in drumlines off the city’s eight shark-controlled beaches last year.

More than 120 sharks were caught off Sunshine Coast beaches, including 14 sharks of 3-4m.

Eighty-five sharks were caught off the Gold Coast, including one 4-5m monster, five great whites and nine sharks bigger than 2m at popular swimming and surfing spot Rainbow Bay.

Fisheries Queensland said authorities had not advised them of the latest incident.

“Our thoughts are with the injured person, those who witnessed the incident, and those who provided assistance at the scene,” a Fisheries Queensland spokesman said.

“Fisheries Queensland does not hunt sharks in response to a shark bite, as it is virtually impossible to definitively confirm the shark responsible.”

He said said everyone who swam or fished in Queensland’s coastal and open waters should be SharkSmart, which included swimming between the flags at patrolled beaches and checking signage, having a buddy and looking out for each other, avoid swimming at dawn or dusk.

Anyone in the water could also reduce risk by avoiding schools of bait fishing or diving birds, keeping fish waste and food scraps out of the water where people swim and staying in clear water away from fishers.