"Significant injury to the neck" 40-year-old angler dies after shark attack off Australia's coast
A shark attack occurred near Queensland on Saturday afternoon. A 40-year-old man was killed.
29.12.2024, 11:39
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A 40-year-old man was fatally injured on a fishing trip with his family in Australia.
- The attack occurred on Saturday near the Humpy campsite.
- The man died at the scene. He had suffered "significant life-threatening injuries to his neck".
In Australia, an angler has been attacked and fatally injured by a shark. The attack occurred on Saturday near the Humpy Island campsite on Australia's east coast, according to rescue services.
A spokeswoman for the Queensland State Ambulance Service told AFP news agency on Sunday that the man died at the scene after suffering a "significant life-threatening injury to his neck". According to local media, the victim was 40-year-old youth pastor Luke Walford from Rockhampton.
According to Queensland Police, the man was on a fishing trip with family members in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef when the shark attacked. Police could not initially confirm whether he had been spearfishing at the time.
Humpy Island is a popular campsite located in Keppel Bay Islands National Park, from where you can easily dive and snorkel to the reefs of the Great Barrier Reef.
Shark attacks are rare - but on the increase
The last fatal shark attack in Australia occurred in December 2023: Back then, a 15-year-old boy was killed by what is believed to be a great white shark at a remote surfing resort in southern Australia.
According to a national database, there have been more than 1,200 incidents involving sharks in Australia since 1791. More than 250 of them were fatal. Most bites come from great white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks.
Shark attacks are rare. However, their number has been increasing in Australia for years - partly because the number of water sports enthusiasts is also on the rise. Surfers are particularly affected, with sharks biting their extremities because they mistake them for seals.
