Coral Bay shark attack: Snorkelling tour operator swam to boy’s rescue

A marine tour operator has revealed how one of his employees bravely swam to the rescue of a young boy attacked by a shark while spearfishing off Coral Bay today. The West Australian was told the marine worker was heading a snorkel tour near Five Fingers Reef, which is only accessible by four-wheel drive, when he heard “calls for help from two spear fishermen” at about 11am. “They were calling for help from the water,” the owner of the tour operator said. “He swam out and rescued the boy and brought him back to shore. “He was pretty shaken up. They both were. “He would’ve then been taken by ambulance to the nursing post. But I don’t think it was too serious. It wasn’t an injury which was too major I don’t think.” The boy, who suffered a shark bite to his foot, will be taken by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Port Hedland this afternoon. It is understood his injuries are not life-threatening. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said it was alerted to the attack at 11.14am — minutes after St John was contacted by a triple-0 caller. A release stated the two-metre-long bronze whaler shark believed to be behind the attack was seen about 75m off shore less than 10 minutes after paramedics were called. “It makes sense that it’s a whaler and that it was at Five Fingers. It’s a pretty popular spot for spear fishermen as it’s outside of the sanctuary zone,” the employer of the boy’s rescuer told The West Australian. “Most of the time in these incidents the shark is going for the spear fisherman’s catch, and then it accidentally catches the fisherman. “That’d explain why his injuries aren’t major. “They (sharks) associate the sound of the speargun with an easy feed.” A statement released by the DPIRD said it was “working with local authorities to coordinate responses” to the incident and urged people in the area to take additional caution and adhere to any relevant beach closures. Today’s shark bite incident comes just three months after spear fisherman Jackson Howson had to fight off what was believed to be a 2.5m bull shark in waters near Coral Bay. The 27-year-old had taken his girlfriend Maddie Naylor-Pratt on her first spearfishing expedition when the harrowing incident unfolded. After his paramedic-to-be partner applied a makeshift towel-tourniquet to his calf, which was “hanging everywhere”, he was flown to Perth by the RFDS. Shark sightings should be reported to Water Police on 9442 8600.