10-year-old mauled after shark pulls him from boat off Tasmania

A 10-YEAR-OLD Australian boy is in hospital with arm, head and chest injuries after being dragged from a 20ft boat by a shark.

The boy and his father – along with two other men – were fishing three miles off the north-western coast of

Tasmania, near Stanley, at 4pm time when the shark struck.

The shark swam away after the boy’s father jumped into the water, according to Ambulance Tasmania.

The boy was wearing a life jacket at the time of the attack, and is reported to be in a stable condition.

At 2.30pm a warning was issued by local police that a “large shark” had been sighted six miles off the coast.

“If swimming or undertaking fishing and other marine activities please take necessary precautions,” the statement said.

Shark attacks are rare in Tasmania, particularly when compared with New South Wales, Queensland and Western

Australia. There have been just 12 recorded fatal shark attacks in Tasmanian waters – the most recent happening five years ago.

Natalie Banks, an Australian researcher and director of marine conservation organisation Azraq, told The Daily Telegraph: “Incidents whereby a

person is pulled from a boat [by a shark] are extremely rare. It would appear that the shark was attracted to either the bait or the fish being caught in this particular case,” she said.

Australia has one of the world’s highest incidences of shark attacks and there have been five fatal maulings in the country so far this year.

The most recent involved a 15-yearold surfer killed last week off the country’s eastern coast.

Debate has raged in Australia over the best way to stop the attacks. Comparisons have been drawn between Australia’s record at deterring sharks and that of South Africa, which has successfully deployed shark-spotting programmes off the coast of Cape Town.