Tourists rescued after dingo encounter

A nine-year-old French boy has been bitten on the face, arms and legs and his mother bitten on the leg as the panicking tourists tried to flee a pack of dingoes on Fraser Island.

Emergency services including a rescue helicopter were sent to Eurong Beach, on the east side of the south-east Queensland island, just before 6pm on Thursday.

Queensland Ambulance Service director Michael Augustus said while the mother had suffered ‘‘multiple superficial bites’’ on her legs, the child’s injuries were significant.

‘‘The mother and child had just exited a vehicle and begun a walk down the beach when they came across this pack of dingoes,’’ he said.

Augustus said it was when the pair panicked and ran back to the car that the pack chased them and attacked.

By 7.20pm, the helicopter had arrived and crews assessed the pair.

The boy and his mother were flown from the island and were recovering at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital yesterday.

The Queensland government culled 31 dingoes after nine-year-old Clinton Gage was killed by a dingo in 2001.

The Department of Environmental Science was questioned by the about the potential of another dingo cull.

‘‘Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers are investigating the circumstances of the incident and have increased patrols in search of the dingoes involved,’’ a spokesman said.

‘‘Future actions will be considered after assessing the information gathered.

‘‘Rangers will also increase patrols at campgrounds and other island arrival points to warn visitors of the dangers associated with dingoes.’’

The attacks came after a six-yearold boy was bitten on the leg by a dingo on the island in January after he was confronted by a pack when he raced up a sand dune.

The Department of Environmental Science website says Fraser Island dingoes are protected by law and roam all over the island, with dingo-deterrent fencing placed in most areas.

Last year, a dingo was euthanised on Fraser Island after it bit a woman and a child in two separate incidents.

The animal also aggressively towards woman. acted another