Cairns tourists recount horror Great Barrier Reef trip

Travellers have described a ‘nightmare’ five-hour ordeal on the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns during which an SA man died, a rescue boat sank and a group of people were swept away in a current. WATCH THE VIDEO

Panicked tourists have watched a man tragically die aboard a packed tour boat after swimming on the Great Barrier Reef in “unsafe waters”.

Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed a man suffered a fatal medical event while swimming around 60 kilometres northeast of Cairns on Monday afternoon.

The tour operator the deceased man was travelling with, Reef Experience, did not respond to multiple requests for comment prior to deadline.

But shattered travellers Amber and Luke Hooper said the “nightmare” five-hour ordeal could have been avoided if the tour operator had opted to keep paddlers out of the water.

The decision set in motion a “horrific” sequence of events that included a sunken rescue boat, a group of tourists being swept away by a raging current, a lingering reef shark and a dead body.

Police confirmed a group of people were located in the water after being swept away and were picked up by a small boat.

A 71-year-old man from Angaston in South Australia was found face down in the water, and could not be revived.

Tourists Amber and Luke Hooper had eagerly anticipated their trip with Reef Experience while visiting Cairns on holiday.

“It seems far-fetched that so much could go wrong,” Ms Hooper, a heavily pregnant mother-of-two said.

“We have two young children at home. I didn’t think I was going to make it back to my kids.

“I was thinking my kids aren’t going to have a mum. It was my worst nightmare.”

The Wollongong-based couple said they travelled to the tour’s second site after lunch, with Mr Hooper opting to scuba dive and Mrs Hooper snorkelling closer to the boat.

“Because I was pregnant I had to wear a life jacket,” she said.

“We were swimming along when suddenly I noticed I was about 100 metres away from the boat.

“I tried to swim back but I just wasn’t moving. The current was so strong. There were people around me struggling too, including a young male and woman near me.”

Mr Hooper’s group, meanwhile, had drifted even further away, with a rescue vessel scurrying out to their aid.

“It was just a small, maybe 10-foot vessel,” the tradesman said.

“There were at least six of us in there. It all happened so quick.”

‘HE WAS LIFELESS’

As Mr Hooper climbed aboard, disaster struck.

“We heard someone yell ‘Shark!’ and I saw a group of people waving their hands,” he said.

“We started the boat but there were too many people on it. It took us way too long to get to them.

“As we pulled up, I saw a man unconscious with two of the guides. One of them had his fingers down his mouth, trying to hold it open.

“He was lifeless. At that stage, I thought he had been attacked by a shark.”

Reef Experience have not responded to requests for comment from the Cairns Post. An empty Reef Experience berth at the Cairns Marlin Marina. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Hooper, along with other tourists, dived into the water and lifted the man onto the rescue vessel with the guides’ assistance.

“They got maybe 20 metres away from us,” he said.

“They were frantically doing compression on the man. It was quite scary.

“Next minute I hear screaming from the boat. I looked over and the vessel had its nose up like the Titanic and it was sinking straight down.

“So the man who was getting worked on is back in the water. They were trying to keep his head above water. That’s when the panic really set in.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God. What the f**k’s going to happen now?’”

As the rescue vessel sank, a nearby boat came to the dying man’s aid.

“It was a blow-up duckie sort of thing,” Mr Hooper said.

“The guy on that boat picked up the man in need and they took him straight over to their boat.”

Visitors from around the world travel to witness coral spawnings at Norman Reef. Pictured here is a large brain coral located at Norman Reef, located northeast of Cairns.

Mr Hooper, along with at least four others, said he remained in the water for around 90 minutes as a glass-bottom boat collected around 30 swimmers.

“I had no fins,” he said.

“My guide had taken his oxygen tank off and four of us were hanging onto the tank.

“There was a 60-year-old man with me. He was saying ‘I don’t think I have much left in me.

“When we got back (aboard the tour boat) there were people crying everywhere.”

Having already been rescued, Ms Hooper said she watched on as first responders desperately tried to save the man’s life.

“The man’s daughter was on board,” she said.

“She yelled ‘You should have known (the conditions were dangerous). Now my f**king father’s dead.’ She was furious.”

Staff ushered distressed tourists inside the boat as a rescue helicopter circled above.

“The helicopter came three times,” Mr Hooper said.

“We were confused and didn’t even know if (the man) had already passed. The propellers were blowing things off the boat.

“Staff wouldn’t tell us anything. They were whispering to themselves. A lot of them were young women and quite upset and crying.”

‘SHOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED’

Once docking in Cairns, tourists were told to remain on the boat for an additional 45 minutes before disembarking, Mr Hooper said.

“When we got into Cairns I expected to see news crews, sirens and at least one ambulance,” he said.

“But there was just a police officer. We didn’t even know he (the deceased man’s body) was still on the roof.”

Clown fish swimming around their anemone home at Norman Reef near Cairns in Far North Queensland.

Ms Hooper said she feared for her unborn child’s life while heading back.

“I couldn’t feel any movement from my baby until we got back on land that night,” she said.

“So the whole time I was sitting on the boat I couldn’t feel her move. I was having a full panic attack in the water.

“I’d sliced my hand on the grate getting up the ladder earlier. I was just a mess.”

Luke and Amber Hooper described their "horror" experience on the Great Barrier Reef as a "nightmare". (Image Supplied)

In a letter sent to Ms Hooper, a Reef Experience manager apologised for the events that unfolded during her trip.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to issue a full refund for the tour, despite the completion of the first water session and the provision of lunch and breakfast,” the manager wrote.

“We understand that the circumstances have had a significant impact on your experience, and we want to demonstrate our commitment to addressing your concerns.”

Big Fish Down Under’s Daniel McCarthy, who had taken his game fishing vessel to Norman Reef at the weekend said he’d noticed a strong current in the region.

“The current is pretty strong north-to-south this time of the year anyway but it does vary,” he said.

“I was there fishing Sunday night. A lot of people don’t understand. You can brief them until you’re blue in the face and they won’t get it.”

Now back home, the couple said the horror trip’s tragic turn should never have happened.

“They should test the bloody waters before letting people that aren’t that confident swim out,” Mr Hooper said.

“The whole thing should have been avoided.”

Ms Hooper added: “It was something we really wanted to do. Everyone told us it was a once in a lifetime experience. We just didn’t expect it to end like that.”

UPDATE: A Reef Experience spokesperson has provided a statement after deadline.

“We are currently assisting the authorities with their investigations and as such we are unable to provide any information relating to the matter at this point in time,” the spokesperson said. “We will provide further details as and when they become available.”

Originally published as Cairns tourists recount horror Great Barrier Reef trip