Green Island: Woman fights for life after being pulled from water near Great Barrier Reef

A woman is fighting for her life after being pulled unconscious from the water at a popular island tourist resort.

Emergency services were called to Green Island in the Great Barrier Reef in north Queensland just before 1pm on Wednesday.

She was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken in a critical condition to Cairns Hospital, 28km away on the mainland.

The woman in her 50s was snorkeling at the island’s jetty when she got into trouble.

Surrounded by a coral reef, Green Island is a popular day trip destination among tourists in Cairns.

There is also a luxury resort on the island.

In May, a Dutch tourist died after fainting while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.

The 51-year-old woman had just returned to a boat from the water at Norman Reef, about 60km northeast of Cairns, when she lost consciousness.

A woman in her 50s is fighting for her life after being pulled from the water near Green Island (pictured) in the Great Barrier Reef on Wednesday afternoon

Green Island (pictured) is a coral island in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns

Last November, Adrian Meyer from Angaston in South Australia died after he and a group of snorkellers were swept away by a strong current while on the reef.

The 71-year-old was with his son Nicholas Meyer and daughter Angela Henson about 60km off the coast of Cairns when disaster struck.

The family had travelled to Cairns to see the World Heritage reef as part of a belated 70th birthday present.