Man loses foot, another seriously injured in shark attack while snorkeling in Australia

A British tourist lost his foot and another suffered a serious leg injury in a shark attack Tuesday while snorkeling off Australia's Whitsunday Islands, authorities say.

Tourist organization Tourism Whitsundays confirmed the attack occurred in Hook Passage in the popular string of islands off the Queensland coast.

The shark first attacked one of the men's feet, then it circled back and bit the other man in his calf, Queensland state Ambulance Service spokeswoman Tracey Eastwick said.

Australia's ABC News identified the men as Danny Maggs, 22, and Alistair Raddon, 28. It was not immediately clear what species of shark attacked the men.

Helicopter rescuers RACQ CQ Rescue said the men told their crew they were "wrestling and thrashing about in the water" when the attack occurred.

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Two passengers on board the tour boat were paramedics who applied first aid, Tourism Whitsundays said. The men were then brought to Airlie Beach on the mainland and later airlifted to a hospital in Mackay.

The men were in serious but stable condition, the helicopter rescue crew said.

The Whitsunday Islands saw a string of shark attacks last year that sparked fears in the tourist destination.

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A 33-year-old man was killed in November by a shark as he was diving from a paddle boat during a yacht cruise. Two other tourists, including a 12-year-old girl, were seriously injured in September when they were attacked on consecutive days.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shark attack: Man loses foot off Whitsunday Islands in Australia