A Swedish nurse and paramedic said they used towels and rope to save the lives of two British tourists in a shark attack on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Danny Maggs, 22, from Plymouth, and Alistair Raddon, 28, were attacked on Tuesday by a shark while swimming at a popular snorkelling spot in the Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, during a day trip on a tourist boat.
Maggs received four deep lacerations to his right calf. Raddon, from Southampton, had his right foot amputated. Both men were in a stable condition in a hospital in the mainland city of Mackay on Wednesday.
Billy Ludvigsson and Emma Andersson, an ambulance nurse and emergency response nurse respectively, were on the day cruise vessel where the men were loaded after the attack.
Andersson told a news conference in Cannonvale that they helped the man who was loaded on first, but his injury was less severe. The couple then made a makeshift tourniquet to stop the life-threatening bleeding of the man who lost his foot and were successful after a few minutes.
“Injury-wise, we have seen worse obviously, but it’s different when it’s a shark attack and we’ve been in the water at the same time. It’s more personal like that,” Ludvigsson said.
The CQ Rescue helicopter service reported on Twitter that the men had been “wrestling and thrashing about in the water” before the attack occurred.
The tourist boat brought the men back to the Abell Point marina at Airlie Beach, where they were treated before being flown to by helicopter.
Maggs and Raddon released a statement thanking everyone involved in their care, from the people on the boat to the ambulance, the helicopter service and Mackay Base hospital staff.
“Everyone dealt with our situation well and remained calm and we are very grateful for your help,” they wrote. “Thanks also to friends and family back home for your messages of love and support. We are very grateful to everyone supporting us wherever you are.”
Maggs was pictured smiling on Tuesday while being loaded into a rescue helicopter.
Jamie Dart, owner of JD Plumbing and Heating Ltd and Maggs’s former manager, had previously told the Guardian that both men were extremely lucky that two trained medical staff who happened to be onboard the cruise boat as guests were there to help.
Tracey Eastwick, a Queensland ambulance service manager, said it was fortunate there was a trained paramedic onboard the cruise because “any first aid in those sort of circumstances with those injuries would be extremely important”.
