Shark attack in Australia: Two British men seriously injured at popular Queensland snorkeling spot

A British man has had his foot bitten off and another was seriously injured in a shark attack at a popular snorkeling spot on the north-eastern coast of Australia.

One of the victims suffered a "serious lacerations to his lower leg" from the incident, according to Central Queensland Rescue.

The rescue service said the other man's foot was bitten off in the attack on Tuesday.

The men were attacked while in the water near Hook Passage, a body of water between Queensland's Whitsunday Island and Hook Island popular with snorkellers.

Both men, believed to be English tourists, were rushed to hospital in "a serious but stable condition".

They had been "wrestling and thrashing about" in the water when the attack occurred, they are said to have told crew of the helicopter rescue service.

Paramedics told Nine Newspapers one of the men was in his early 20s and the other in his late 20s.

The men were taken on a tour boat to Airlie Beach, about 680 miles north of Brisbane,

They were then airlifted by helicopter around 70 miles to a hospital in the city of Mackay.

There have been numerous shark attacks in the Whitsunday island group in recent years, including a fatal incident at Cid Harbour involving a 33-year-old man last November.

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