Tasmania shark attack: boy survives being ‘grabbed’ by a shark from a fishing boat

A boy who was grabbed by a shark from a boat off Tasmania’s north-west coast has suffered arm, head and chest injuries.

The 10-year-old was taken to hospital on Friday afternoon following the attack near Stanley.

“The boy … was aboard a six-metre vessel on a fishing expedition about 5km from shore with his father and two other men when a shark grabbed him from the boat,” Ambulance Tasmania said in a statement.

The boy’s father jumped into the water and the shark swam away, the statement said.

The boy was wearing a life jacket at the time of the attack. He suffered cuts and is reported to be in a stable condition.

A few hours before the attack police had issued a shark warning for the area.

“Please be advised there has been a large shark sighted in the Stanley area,” they warned.

“If swimming or undertaking fishing and other marine activities please take necessary precautions.”

According to the Australian Shark Attack File, maintained by the Taronga Conservation Society, the last injury from a shark bite in Tasmania was in 2012.

Friday’s incident is the latest in a string of shark attacks in Australian waters.

A shark documentary-maker on Tuesday was mauled by a shark while swimming at a resort island during a day off in far north Queensland.

The 29-year-old woman was bitten on the left leg at Fitzroy Island near Cairns.

“I still love sharks, sharks are beautiful,” the woman told reporters as she was wheeled into Cairns hospital in a stable condition.

She suffered a possible fracture of the left ankle and some lacerations, paramedics said.

On Saturday, a teenager died while surfing at Wilsons Headland at Wooli Beach, off northern NSW, which was Australia’s fifth fatal shark attack this year.

The previous weekend, a 36-year-old Sunshine Coast man died after being mauled while spearfishing off Queensland’s Fraser Island.

Last month, the Gold Coast surfer Rob Pedretti, 60, died after he was attacked at Salt Beach at South Kingscliff in northern NSW.

A shark also killed the 23-year-old Queensland wildlife ranger Zachary Robba in April off North West Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Experienced diver Gary Johnson, 57, was killed by a shark near Cull Island in Esperance on Western Australia’s south coast in January.