3rd shark attack off Australian tourist island in 7 weeks

A shark critically injured a man on Monday near an island harbour on Australia's Great Barrier reef where two tourists were mauled on consecutive days in September, officials said.

The man suffered "significant leg and wrist injuries" when he was attacked near Cid Harbor on Whitsunday Island off the Queensland state coast, a Queensland Ambulance statement said.

The victim was taken by helicopter to the Mackay Base Hospital, 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the south, where his condition was listed as critical, Central Queensland Helicopter Rescue Service said in a statement.

Whitsunday is the largest island in the Whitsunday Islands group, a major international tourist attraction popular with scuba divers and sailors where shark attacks have been rare.

A 46-year-old tourist, Justine Barwick, was attacked on Sept. 19 while swimming from a yacht in Cid Harbor and is recovering. A 12-year-old tourist, Hannah Papps, was attacked in the same harbour the next day, losing a leg.

The last shark attack in the Whitsunday Islands before the latest spate occurred in 2010 off Dent Island when a 60-year-old woman survived severe lacerations to her buttocks and major blood loss.

(With inputs from agencies.)