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Luke Walford identified as man killed in shark attack on Humpy Island

Posted on by Dimeks
Luke Walford identified as man killed in shark attack on Humpy Island

Written by: DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA FOR FREDDY PAWLE

Publication date: | Updated:

A man who died after being mauled by a shark has been identified as a beloved youth pastor.

Luke Walford, 40, was spearfishing with his family and friends off Humpy Island in the Keppel Bay Islands National Park, about 18 kilometers off the Queensland coast. He was attacked around 16.30 on Saturday.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said emergency services found Mr Walford with ‘significant’ neck injuries after rushing to the scene.

Despite the best efforts of first responders to resuscitate him, Mr. Walford was pronounced dead just before 6 p.m.

Mr Walford worked as a children’s and youth chaplain at the Cathedral of Praise and Heights College in his hometown of Rockhampton.

He was awarded Rockhampton’s Young Citizen of the Year in 2010 for his work with children in local schools and the Salvation Army.

A friend of Mr Walford honored him on social media as “a truly kind soul, you wouldn’t meet a single person who would say a negative thing about him”.

Keppel MP Nigel Hutton said the community was sending its ‘thoughts and prayers’ to his family.

Luke Walford identified as man killed in shark attack on Humpy Island

The man killed by a shark in front of his family and friends has been identified as 40-year-old youth pastor Luke Walford (pictured)

Mr Walford was spearfishing at the time of the attack, which left him suffering 'significant' neck injuries and he succumbed to the condition shortly before 6pm on Saturday.

Mr Walford was spearfishing at the time of the attack, which left him suffering ‘significant’ neck injuries and he succumbed to the condition shortly before 6pm on Saturday.

The Cathedral of Praise’s website says Mr Walford is ‘a God-honoring man whose enthusiasm and energy to serve the body are contagious’.

‘He has a genuine love for children and young people and desires to help them grow into all that God has created them to be,’ his website reads.

Images on Mr Walford’s social media accounts reveal he was a keen spearfisherman with his father, who tragically died of cancer in 2022.

This latest attack is the worst in a series of shark attacks in recent months.

A man in his 60s was bitten by a shark while spearfishing off Curtis Island, north of Gladstone, at 8.25am on December 2.

He had minor to moderate injuries to his forearms, and bystanders administered first aid to stop the bleeding while paramedics arrived.

Another woman, 57, was also attacked while snorkelling at a reef about 200km off the coast of Mackay at 4.30pm on October 30.

He suffered two 30cm bite wounds on his calf and it took more than eight hours to get him back to shore.

Bystanders once again gave the woman first aid and the Australian Navy helped take her back to the mainland.