A fatal shark attack has occurred in Queensland, Australia near the same location as two previous shark bites that occurred in September, one day apart from each other.
On Nov. 5, Dr. Daniel Christidis, 33, had been with several friends on a charter boat in Cid Harbour near Whitsunday Island. Around 5:30 p.m. he and a friend were taking turns using a paddle board.
When Dr. Christidis entered the water so his friend could use the paddle board, he was attacked by a shark. His left thigh and right calf were injured, and his left wrist was also injured from what is believed to have been a defensive wound.
Dr. Christidis, a Melbourne Hospital medical researcher from Victoria, was pulled aboard a vessel and treated by two off-duty doctors and an emergency department nurse from nearby boats.
A paramedic from Hamilton Island arrived around 6:30 p.m. and waited with the injured man until the rescue helicopter arrived. Dr. Christidis had lost a large amount of blood, and was resuscitated twice during a 45-minute period.
When RACQ CQ arrived on scene, a crewman was tendered to the boat and picked up Dr. Christidis who then was taken to shore by the crewman and the paramedic.
“He’d suffered very serious bites, significant blood loss as well as cardiac arrest,” according to RACQ CQ rescue crewman Ben McCauley.
Dr. Christidis was flown to Mackay Base Hospital, landing around 8 p.m., and later was pronounced dead.
McCauley, who was a crewman on the previous two bites, said there were around 20 boats in the harbor at the time, and this incident was “just totally unbelievable” and “the worst one yet.”
Injuries from the shark bites that occurred a day apart in September were not fatal.
Hannah Papps was swimming in the Harbour Sept. 20, when a shark grabbed her upper leg near the groin area.
She was taken to the Mackay Base Hospital where her leg was amputated.
Despite losing the limb, she was described as being brave throughout the ordeal, and is expected to make a full recovery.
At the time of the incident, the shark bite victim from the day earlier was being treated at Mackay Base Hospital.
Justine Barwick had been swimming in the Harbour around 5 p.m. when a tiger shark grabbed her upper right thigh.
The 46-year-old woman was pulled out of the water and onto a yacht that, fortunately, had a doctor onboard. She was rescued by the RACQ CQ, is currently learning how to walk again.
At the time of the two September bites, the water had reportedly been rather murky.
Fisheries Queensland installed several baited drum lines and culled four tiger sharks ranging in size from 6- to 12-feet (2m to 3.5m) long.
As of November 5, 2018, there have been a total of 87 shark attack bites (63 with injury, 19 of which are considered provoked*) publicly reported and verified in 2018. Five fatal**; 33 were reported in the U.S. (including one fatal), with 13 occurring in Florida and 3 in Hawaii. Twenty have been reported in Australia, one fatal. Eight unconfirmed bites, worldwide, not included in the total count.
All locations have been marked on the 2018 Shark Attack Bites Tracking Map
Updated November 6, 2018
