RACQ CQ RESCUE Helicopter Service

RACQ CQ RESCUE retrieves shark attack victim

A sixty year old woman from Potts Point, Sydney is lucky to be alive after an altercation with a 2 metre bronze whaler shark earlier today. The woman was attacked by the shark while swimming near Dent Island in the Whitsundays.

After being dragged beneath the water and realising she had been bitten by the shark, the woman’s sheer determination to survive lead her to punch and kick the shark. She was pulled from the water and crew on board the boat on which she was a passenger administered first aid to stem the flow of blood. By this stage the woman had lost around 40% of her blood as a result of the gaping wound on her buttock and thigh. She was taken by boat to nearby Hamilton Island where she was met by the RACQ CQ RESCUE helicopter and medical crew.

The RACQ CQ RESCUE medical crew had organised to take fresh blood stocks for the woman. She was transported on board the RACQ CQ RESCUE helicopter to Mackay Base Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery.