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Boy, six mauled by 'vicious' dingo in Australia

A six-year-old boy was mauled by a dingo in a “vicious and out-of-control” attack on Fraser Island.

Michael Schipanski was confronted by the wild dogs while returning to his campsite after a swim with his family.

One of the dogs bit the boy’s legs and tried to drag him away, but his father Mark managed to free him. He was airlifted to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

Mr Schipanski said his son let out “bone-chilling screams of terror and pain”.

He said: “I turned around and saw him set upon and dragged down by this pack of dingoes. It was out-of-control, vicious, terrifying.

The boy suffered puncture wounds to his legs after the dingo tried to drag him off (Mariamichelle/Pixabay)
The boy suffered puncture wounds to his legs after the dingo tried to drag him off (Mariamichelle/Pixabay)

“He has severe puncture wounds, bite and teeth marks, to both his legs. One dingo had him by the leg and was trying to drag him off down the sand.”

He added: “I hate to think what might have happened if they got to his head or throat.”

Fraser Island, a World Heritage site, is home to what is regarded the purest dingo population in Australia.

There are thought to be around 200 on the island. Authorities warn visitors not to feed them and to walk in groups.

The incident was the seventh dingo attack at the tourist spot in the last 20 years. In 2001, a nine-year-old boy was killed after being attacked on the island.