Shark pulls boy, 10, from boat

A STANLEY fisherman has described the moment a 10year-old boy was pulled from a boat and attacked by a shark as a “freak accident”.

The boy, from Tasmania’s North West, was rushed to hospital with head, chest and arm wounds after a shark ripped him from a fishing boat.

Ambulance Tasmania on Friday afternoon said the boy and his father were aboard a six-metre vessel, 5km from shore at Stanley, when a shark pulled the boy from the boat.

The boy was taken to the North West Regional Hospital after suffering lacerations to his arm and other cuts to his head and chest.

His father jumped into the water to help his son, at which point the shark swam away.

The boy was in a stable condition, Ambulance Tasmania said. Police earlier on Friday warned of a large shark off the coast near Stanley.

Stanley fisherman Steve Hursey described the shark attack as a “freak accident”.

“It’s just unheard of. I’m 28 years old … been fishing all my life and never even seen a shark here, let alone a shark attack. I have heard of shark attacks occurring before but never heard of anyone being pulled out of a boat.”

EMILY TOXWARD

BY day he’s an oncology pharmacist at Pindara Private Hospital, doing his best to care for people fighting for their lives.

But by night, Alex Mackenzie-Templar, 25, finds weird and wonderful ways to raise money for the baby of a colleague who is fighting a rare form of blood cancer. To date he’s raised nearly $87,000 for Elowen Boston, the nine-month-old daughter of his colleague, friend and mentor Bronwyn.

He has shaved his head, dyed the regrowth blond, walked 80km and smashed back 2000 burpees in five hours.

The Mermaid Waters fitness freak said there were few things he would not do to raise money for the Boston family.

In a bid to smash his $100,000 goal, he is working with Momentum gym at Burleigh to raise the final $10,000 by lifting 100,000kg, and he wants the community’s support.

Last week Elowen’s father William, of Burleigh, said his baby daughter was on the 21st day of her second course of chemotherapy.

“At the moment, we’re playing the waiting game,” he said.

“We’re waiting for Elowen’s blood counts to come back up and at this stage, she still needs blood transfusions, which she unfortunately has developed an allergy to.”

People can donate at the “everyoneforelowen” GoFundMe page.