British man bitten by shark in Australia thought it was his friend 'pulling on his leg'

A British tourist who lost his foot in a shark attack in northern Australia had thought it was just his friend pulling on his leg quite hard, rescue staff said on Wednesday. Alistair Raddon was swimming with his friend Danny Maggs off Airlie Beach on a boat tour when the pair came into contact with the shark. The Queensland Ambulance Service said Raddon had his right foot bitten off in the attack and that Maggs suffered serious calf lacerations.

The pair were treated on the tour boat by two international paramedics. There have been at least four shark attacks in the Whitsundays since September last year, one of them fatal, local media reported.