A man has been bitten by a crocodile off the coast of Haggerstone Island.
A 51-year-old man was bitten on the hand by a crocodile while snorkeling with a group of people near an exclusive resort off the coast of Haggerstone Island in Cape York on Saturday.
This is the fifth such incident in the area in eight weeks.
The Brisbane man was flown to Thursday Island Hospital before being transferred to Cairns Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctors Service. He is in a stable condition.
The Queensland Department of Environment said in a statement that they had commenced an investigation into the incident and were working to “obtain further information.”
“Crocodiles in the open ocean can be difficult to locate as the animals often travel tens of kilometres per day,” the department said.
“It is important that crocodile sightings and crocodile incidents are reported in a timely manner.”
“We investigate all crocodile sighting reports that we receive.”
Haggerstone Island Resort, 600 kilometres north of Cairns, calls itself a “family owned, exclusive luxury resort that caters to high end clientele.”
The entire island can be hired for $7,600 a night.
This attack is the fifth of its kind in the same region since April.
Back in February, wildlife authorities killed a 4.2 metre crocodile that attacked a man and his dog at a boat ramp in Cooktown.
In April, another man was killed by a crocodile while fishing at Lakefield National Park in Cape York.
The Environmental Defenders Office is calling for rangers to start fining people who ignore official safety messaging. The Queensland Department of Environment and Science said they were considering this proposal.
