A woman is dead after a shark attack at a remote New South Wales beach, and a man is in hospital in a critical condition after also being bitten.
Emergency services were called to a beach at the Crowdy Bay National Park, on the state's mid-north coast, about 6.30am on Thursday after reports the pair had been bitten by a shark.
Before paramedics could attend the scene, fellow beach-goers assisted them but the woman died at the scene.
The man was flown to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle in a critical condition, police confirming he had sustained "serious injuries".
Both were aged in their 20s but neither has yet been identified.
The beach has been closed, and police will liaise with wildlife experts to determine what species of shark carried out the attack.
The national park, about an hour's drive south of Port Macquarie, is known for beach camping, fishing spots and walking tracks.
Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce said the "really, really terrible" incident had occurred at a particularly remote part of the national park.
"All the details are a little bit sparse at the moment ... our surf lifesavers are up there on scene with all the other emergency services," he told 2GB radio.
"These incidents are horrific for everyone and unfortunately we've had a few this year already.
"It's so remote there's no life guarding services up there."
It is the second fatal shark attack in NSW in two months.
In September, avid surfer Mercury Psillakis, 57, was killed by a great white shark at Long Reef Beach in northern Sydney.
He had been warning other surfers about the shark before he was mauled to death.
It prompted the state government to scrap a trial removal of shark nets at three NSW beaches, Premier Chris Minns suggesting it would be "silly" to do so in light of the attack.
Researchers and animal advocates have long argued the nets offer minimal protection and predominantly injure other sea life.
