A close friend of shark attack survivor Danny Maggs said he got "goosebumps" when he heard what had happened - and described the ordeal as "scary".
The 22-year-old engineer from Plymouth was pulled from the water after a terrifying shark attack left him with "deep lacerations" to his leg.
Another British man lost his entire foot in the horrifying bloodbath which shattered the holiday bliss of the two young travellers on Tuesday morning off Hook Island in Australia.
Danny's friend and former boss Jamie Dart said he "seems in good spirits" but was "very lucky".
Jamie told Plymouth Live : "I have spoken to him and he is recovering. He is having surgery on his leg and has got two deep lacerations on one of them.
"But he seems in good spirits. We have just been communicating through messages online.
"I heard the news on my way to work and knew he was around that area. I just thought - there is no way it could be him. Then someone called me to break the news.
"I got goosebumps when I heard. My first thoughts were for his mum and dad and I contacted them shortly afterwards and they updated me on what happened.
"They said he was doing well and being treated. I just got one message from Danny himself and he said ' I am okay mate - but it was scary.'"
Jamie, who owns JD Plumbing and Heating ltd, said Danny worked for him for two years during which he qualified as an engineer before going travelling for a year.
But he's loved his time abroad so much that he's extended his time abroad.
"He worked for me for two years and became a qualified engineer," said Jamie. "He then went travelling for what was meant to be just a year. But he will have been out there for two years this Christmas and just loved it.
"He is a really good lad - a hard worker who wanted to go and explore the world. I would have a bad word to say about him."
Jamie added that Danny's parents said he was "baring up and was in safe hands."
"His parents seemed ok and said after they had spoken with him and put their mind at rest and confirmed it was just nasty bite to the leg," he added.
"He was very lucky that is all it was.''
Danny's family and loved-ones in Plymstock in Plymouth have said they are not yet ready to talk about the attack on the young man.
Meanwhile Danny posted a picture on his Instagram page which shows him on a stretcher about to be whisked off in a helicopter having being rescued form the blood-red waters around Hook Island.
He now faces surgery to repair the damage inflicted by rows of razor sharp shark teeth.
Alistair Raddon, 28, from Southampton, lost his foot in the attack which happened when the two men had been swimming at the popular tourist spot on the Whitsunday Islands chain at around 10am local time, Eastern Australia.
Local media reported that the pair were set upon near Hook Passage, a body of water between Whitsunday Islands and Hook Island.
They had been on a snorkeling tour of the area with ZigZag.
Both men were taken on a tour boat to Airlie Beach, about 680 miles north of Brisbane, before being airlifted by helicopter around 70 miles to a hospital in the city of Mackay, according to authorities.
Queensland Ambulance Service confirmed Alistair lost his right foot while Danny received four deep lacerations to his right calf. They were transported in a serious but stable condition, paramedics said.
RACQ CQ Rescue, who airlifted the pair to hospital, said that the two men had told crewmen they were "wrestling and thrashing" about in the water when the attack happened.
Tracey Eastwick, manager of operations for Queensland Ambulance Service, said that two German backpackers were on board the ZigZag tour boat and had administered "extremely important" first aid.
"It was fortunate that we understand there was two German paramedics on-board the vessel at the time, who were able to render first aid," she said.
"Certainly any first aid in those sorts of circumstances, with those injuries, is extremely important."
Tour operator ZigZag Whitsundays confirmed two men were injured on one of its tours, and that it had suspended any further excursions for the day.
"We are saddened to confirm that two of our guests were injured in a shark attack this morning," a spokesperson said.
A statement from Tourism Whitsundays said: "Our first thoughts are with the two people involved in the incident and their welfare; as well as the other passengers and crew on the boat.
"Immediate counselling support was arranged for the passengers and crew, their welfare is also our priority.
"We would also like to commend the lightning response of our first responders and emergency services."
There have been numerous shark attacks in the Whitsunday island group in recent years, including a fatal incident at Cid Harbour involving a 33-year-old man last November.
Tourist Daniel Christidis died in hospital after being attacked while paddleboarding and swimming in the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland.
The attack took place during a debate about shark control in the area.
In April the Administrative Appeals Tribunal upheld a challenge to a shark control program using nets and drumlines to catch and kill sharks brought in the Great Barrier Reef marine park brought by the Humane Society.
The tribunal ruled the Queensland Government could not show the the lethal component of the method reduced the risk of unprovoked shark attacks.
It is not thought that drumlines were used where the men were attacked yesterday.
