Australia shark attacks: two injured in less than 24 hours

Two people are in critical condition after being attacked by sharks at a popular tourist spot at a harbour in the Whitsunday Islands in north Queensland.

The first attack took place on Wednesday, when 46-year-old Justine Barwick, a tourist from Tasmania, was attacked by a large shark while snorkelling near a yacht in Cid Harbour, leaving her with life-threatening injuries to her torso and leg.

A 12-year-old New Zealand girl holidaying with her father was attacked in the same waters less than 24 hours later, causing a “significant leg injury”, according to the Queensland Ambulance Service.

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Both victims were stabilised on board nearby boats, before being ferried to land and airlifted to hospital.

Fisheries Queensland shark control program manager Jeff Krause said: “It is very unusual in such a short period of time — it's just unprecedented.”

Krause told the ABC that the department is advising people not to swim in the area, and that three baited drum lines will be set in a bid to catch the shark responsible for the attacks.

“We don't normally go out and search for any sharks that may have been involved in a shark attack,” Krause said, adding: “It is possible that there’s more than one shark involved in these unfortunate events.”

“This is a tropical area,“ Sea World marine services director Trevor Long told reporters. “There’s probably four species that could be involved in it, probably the worst of those species would be a tiger shark,“

“Unprovoked shark attacks have killed one person and injured 14 others in Australia this year,” the BBC reports.