“His friends acted incredibly bravely and with swift action to get him to safety,” local authorities said in a post on Facebook. According to the same statement, emergency services arrived quickly on the scene. The boy was first taken to a hospital on the island and then flown by helicopter to Townsville for emergency surgery.
According to News9, the boy remains in critical condition in the hospital. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that he lost a lot of blood and suffered life-threatening injuries to his abdomen and internal organs.
‘This deeply affects our community’
The mayor of Thursday Island reacted with shock to the incident. “This deeply affects our small community. We know that many people are thinking of the boy, his friends and their families,” Elsie Seriat OAM wrote on Facebook. She added: “We would like to express our sincere thanks to the boys who helped their friend and to the emergency services for their quick response.” She emphasizes that the municipality will continue to work to increase safety at fishing and swimming spots.
Although it is well known that sharks are common in the waters around Australia, attacks in this region are relatively rare. Australian media report that the last incident near Thursday Island occurred in 2010 and was not fatal.