London - A British tourist has lost his foot in a shark attack while snorkelling off the Australian coast.
Alistair Raddon, 28, was savaged along with 22-year-old Danny Maggs, another Brit who was left with severe lacerations to his leg.
The friends were airlifted to hospital on Monday morning where they are recovering, with Mr Maggs saying: "I’m OK – but it was scary."
Paramedics said that during the flight the pair teased them about England’s recent victory over Australia in the Rugby World Cup.
Both backpackers were on a day cruise near Hook Passage, in the picturesque Whitsunday Islands off the north-east coast of Australia with about 20 others.
Mr Raddon, from Southampton, lost his right foot in the attack by what is thought to be a tiger shark, while Mr Maggs, from Plymouth, was bitten on his calf.
Queensland’s helicopter rescue service said the victims had told crewmen they were play-fighting when the shark struck.
"Alistair said they were wrestling in the water," spokesman Grant Bollington said.
"He thought his mate grabbed him really hard by the leg and turned around and saw blood in the water." Paramedics said the pair spent the flight discussing rugby and joking with their rescuers about England’s 40-16 victory over Australia ten days earlier.
Tracey Eastwick, of Queensland’s ambulance service, said they were in "good spirits" but added: "The impact of the attack is not lost on them."
Mr Maggs’s mother Rachel, who is on holiday in Malta, said: "We’re in shock and we’re thousands of miles away so can’t do much at the moment. We are hoping for the best."
Both men had been taken on a tour boat to Airlie Beach 680 miles north of Brisbane and were airlifted about 70 miles to a hospital in the city of Mackay.
They have both had surgery and were said to be in a stable condition.
Jamie Dart, a friend of Mr Maggs, a plumber who was working his way round Australia, said: "I just got one message from Danny himself and he said, “I am OK mate but it was scary”. His parents said he was bearing up and was in safe hands. He is a really good lad, a hard worker who wanted to go and explore the world."
Chien Wang, a tourist who was on board the boat, said they were finishing their first stop of the day when the predator hit at about 10.20am local time.
The 22-year-old said about half the group were still in the water when she heard a voice shouting, ‘shark’. ‘At first I didn’t think it was serious,’ she said.
"Then he kept shouting." She told how a member of the boat crew jumped on a paddleboard to help the two men back to the vessel.
The cruise company, ZigZag Whitsundays, said it had suspended tours. The council-run Tourism Whitsundays said: ‘Our first thoughts are with the two people involved in the incident and their welfare.’ Passengers have been offered counselling.
The Foreign Office said: "We are in contact with Australian authorities following reports that two British men have been involved in an incident in Queensland."
The Whitsundays region has seen a number of shark attacks in the past year, including one fatality.