'Cheerful' and 'enthusiastic' doctor killed in shark attack

Daniel Christidis, 33, died after he was bitten by a shark while on holiday with a group of friends in Queensland. Daniel Christidis, 33, was a urologist who had worked as a surgical registrar at Western Health in the city of Melbourne since February. In a statement, the organisation said Mr Christidis had been "widely respected" and staff were "deeply saddened" by his death. Western Health's director of surgery and head of urology, Professor Helen O'Connell, said: "Dan was a great person to work with and we are all richer for knowing him, sadly too briefly. "He was compassionate with patients, going the extra mile to help them. "The consummate professional, especially for someone so young, he was already encouraging younger doctors to aspire to a surgical career and participate in academic projects." She said he had "enthusiasm and cheerfulness" and a "rare emotional intelligence". Before working at Western Health, Mr Christidis was a research fellow at Austin Health, where a statement supplied to Sky News said the organisation was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss". Mr Christidis had been with 10 friends in Queensland and was taking turns with a female friend standing on a paddle board or swimming in the harbour. He had dived into the water to give the woman her turn on the board when the shark attacked his legs and arms. His friends gave him first aid and he was airlifted to Mackay Base Hospital in a critical condition but he died soon afterwards. Police inspector Steve O'Connell said: "CPR was ongoing for a very long time and every solid effort was made to save that man's life. "They did everything imaginable to try to save the man. It's just - the injuries were so severe." Mr Christidis was attacked in the same area where two other tourists were mauled on consecutive days in September. Meanwhile, a 43-year-old man was bitten by a shark while surfing near Shelly Beach at Ballina, New South Wales, on Wednesday The shark bit the man's calf but his injury - reportedly a 20cm wound - was not life-threatening, police said. Ballina mayor David Wright said: "He said he was bitten on the leg by a 5ft shark which pulled him off the board. "He said he tried to hit the shark with board."