Brave fight to survive
“BRAVE” Hannah Papps – the 12- year- old girl who became the second Whitsundays shark attack victim in 24 hours – was last night fighting for life as authorities set baited drum lines in an effort to catch any rogue animals in the popular tourist spot.
Her rescuers described how she smiled and gave them the “thumbs up” as she was loaded into a helicopter at a remote beach on Whitsunday Island, north of Hamilton Island.
Hannah was yesterday flown from Mackay to the Queensland Children’s Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
THE young victim of a second Whitsundays shark attack in 24 hours was last night fighting for life in hospital.
Rescuers described how brave schoolgirl Hannah Papps smiled and gave the thumbs- up as she was loaded into a helicopter at a remote beach on Whitsunday Island on Thursday afternoon.
Hannah was yesterday flown to the Queensland Children’s Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service after Mackay hospital staff had worked through the night to stabilise her.
She was accompanied by her engineer father David.
Rescuers said the 12- yearold was “brave” and “stoic”, despite horrific injuries to her leg that have left her in a critical condition.
Hannah was on holiday with her father and sister. The Papps family lives in Hampton in Melbourne’s southeast but is originally from New Zealand. Her mother, who had been in New Zealand, made a frantic dash to Brisbane following the attack.
In a statement released by the family last night, Hannah’s parents said their daughter was in a critical but stable condition after undergoing emergency surgery.
“We would like to thank everyone who has helped and cared for Hannah, including the police, emergency services and the hospital teams,” the statement read.
“We ask that everyone, including the media, please respect our family’s privacy during this very difficult time so we can focus our energies on Hannah’s recovery.”
Shark control equipment was deployed in the Whitsundays for the first time by the Department of Fisheries yesterday.
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol Shark Control program manager Jeff Krause said the drum lines were likely to remain in place for at least the next week.
Mother- of- two Justine Barwick, 46, who was bitten in the first attack on Wednes-
day, was last night in a stable condition in the intensive care unit of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority assistant director of reef conservation actions Dr Mark Read said it was likely the sharks in Cid Harbour had become confident enough to approach humans. He said it would be nearly impossible to identify the species of shark or sharks responsible for the atacks.
“We don’t know why their behaviour has changed to be willing to engage with people in that area,” he said.
“Sharks are an important component of the Great Barrier Reef marine ecosystem — they play a key role as predators and they are also important to tourism in the reef … they are an important species of the marine park and have a right to be in the ecosystem.”
Queensland Yacht Charters confirmed both shark attack victims had been passengers on board vessels under its management.
It is understood Mrs Barwick was pulled aboard Topaz after she had been bitten, while Hannah had been on Miss Devereux.
“I thank and commend those who came to the immediate aid of Mrs Barwick on Wednesday and the 12year- old girl,” managing director Christophe Vanek said.