Former US Navy dive master fights for life after Reef shark attack

Paramedics were called to Lucinda, 120km north of Townsville, after reports a man had been bitten.

Former US Navy master diver Rick Bettua arriving at the Dungeness boat ramp in Hinchinbrook after his upper left leg was mauled by a bull shark on the Great Barrier Reef on Sunday. Picture: Cameron Bates

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former US Navy dive master is fighting for life in a Townsville hospital after he was attacked by a bull shark on Sunday while spearfishing on the Great Barrier Reef.

Rick Bettua, 59, had been spearfishing with a group of friends at Britomart Reef at ­Lucinda, 120km north of Townsville and part of the central Great Barrier Reef, when he was bitten in the upper thigh and groin region shortly after midday.

Queensland Ambulance was called at 12.22pm and met a waiting group at Dungeness boat ramp.

Immediately following the bite, a member of the group he was with applied a makeshift tourniquet to the “very significant” injury to slow the bleeding as they made the 40-minute journey back to shore.

QAS senior operations supervisor Ray Hardy said Mr Bettua did not have a pulse when paramedics arrived.

Rick Bettua. Picture: Facebook

“I would say that’s not a good place to be in,” he said.

It took emergency crews more than an hour to stem the catastrophic bleeding before breathing intervention could be provided and Mr Bettua was placed on life support. He was flown by the RACQ LifeFlight helicopter to Townsville University Hospital.

Life Flight critical care doctor David Humphreys said “several minutes” were spent trying to bring back Mr Bettua’s pulse before they were successful.

“The obvious concern was catastrophic bleeding,” he said.

“We wanted to stabilise him as far as we could with our resources and then get him as quickly as possible to surgery.”

He was given multiple units of blood before he arrived at hospital.

Mr Bettua, who lives at South Mission Beach, underwent emergency surgery on Sunday evening.

A Queensland Health spokesperson said he was in a critical but stable condition.

In 2017, Mr Bettua was one of three men directly credited with saving the life of fellow spearfisher Glenn Dickson in a high-profile shark attack off Cardwell.

Britomart Reef is a popular spearfishing location and held the 2018 Queensland Spearfishing ­Titles.

Seven people have been killed by sharks of the Australian coast in 2020.

Last month, 46-year-old real estate agent Nick Slater died after being bitten by a 3.5m great white shark while surfing at Coolangatta’s Greenmount Beach on the Gold Coast.

In January, a 57-year-old experienced diver, Gary Johnson, was killed by a shark off the West Australian coast near Esperance.

Emergency service crews prepare to transport a 59-year-old shark bite victim to Townsville University Hospital from Dungeness near Lucinda. Picture: Cameron Bates

Wildlife ranger, Zachary Robba, 23, was killed by a shark off the Great Barrier Reef in April.

Two people were killed in the northern NSW region through winter. Rob Pedretti, 60, was bitten while surfing in June, followed by a teenager in July who was also surfing when attacked

Police, paramedics and fire crews were also stationed at the Dungeness boat to support the emergency response.

Dr Humphreys said the rescue had had a heavy impact on the crew and all the people who had provided emergency assistance to Mr Bettua.

“This is the type of work that we do, but nevertheless it still has an emotional impact on the crew,” he said.

“Particularly those who are non-clinical and particularly for bystanders, other emergency services personnel and his friends and family.”