Fellow surfers are being credited with saving the life of a man who was critically injured in a shark attack on the south coast of New South Wales.
The 22-year-old man, named in the media as Brett Connellan, was surfing with friends when the shark attacked, ripping into his upper left thigh and goring his hand at Bombo Beach at 7pm (local time) yesterday.
His friend swam to his aid and managed to get him to shore on the back of his board.
"He had lost a large proportion of his left thigh, and the quad muscle was torn away right down to the bone," Ambulance NSW district officer Inspector Terry Morrow told the Illawarra Mercury.
"He could've bled to death before we arrived on scene. He was very lucky the members of the public were there and acted as they did. They saved his life, to tell you the truth."
Mr Connellan underwent surgery at Sydney's St George Hospital and remains in a critical but stable condition.
The Kiama Council Lifeguard Service has closed Bombo Beach and the neighbouring beaches in the area.
"We'll be closing the beach over the next 24 hours," lifeguard supervisor Andy Mole told AAP.
Lifeguards will launch patrols of the water on jetski on Thursday to scout the waters for the shark.
A shark biologist who is working with police and NSW Surf Life Saving will also look at photos of the man's wounds to try to identify the species of shark.
"We're all just pretty shocked because we've never had a shark attack in this region for the longest time," he told AAP.
He said Mr Connellan was a very well known "amazing surfer" in the community.
Shark expert Michael Brown from Surf Watch Australia has judged the shark to be either a great white or bronze whaler.
"If we look at the horrific injury, it's probably fairly obvious it's a great white or a bronze whaler," he told the Seven Network.
Mr Connellan was surfing in the southern end of the beach at dusk on Wednesday, which Mr Brown said was the time sharks were most active and hunting.
"Especially sharks like great whites. They have a greater ability to be able to see in low light," he said.
