Teenage boy hospitalised after being bitten by shark at Cabarita Beach in NSW
A teenage boy has suffered serious injuries in a shark attack on the NSW Far North Coast on Sunday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to Norris Headland at Cabarita Beach, located between Byron Bay and the Tweed, shortly before 4pm.
The 16-year-old was bitten on his right arm and right leg, after being attacked while swimming, NSW Surf Lifesaving CEO Stephen Pearce told the ABC.
"At this stage I'm unsure of the severity of injuries, but I'm told there were traumatic injuries to the right arm and right leg," he said.
NSW Ambulance said he was being flown to a Gold Coast hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A video on social media showed the boy being carried up the beach by surfers and other beachgoers.
Bystanders tied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding before paramedics arrived at the scene, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said.
"I'm not sure whether he was with any other friends at the time of the incident, but by the time our lifeguards got there he had already had a tourniquet applied to those impacted limbs," Mr Pearce said.
A jet ski was used to clear other surfers from the water.
A second chopper patrolled the area but no shark activity was sighted.
Mr Pearce said with whales migrating up and down the coast at this time of the year, there was always more shark activity around the place."Cabarita Beach is a beautiful, picturesque beach and unfortunately I think it might be a case of 'wrong time, wrong place' at this stage for the young fella," he said.
He said the beach will remain closed until Monday, with a decision to be made then about when it will reopen.
It is unknown what type of shark attacked the teen.
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ABC News
5 hours ago
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Teenage boy hospitalised after being bitten by shark at Cabarita Beach in NSW
A teenage boy has suffered serious injuries in a shark attack on the NSW Far North Coast on Sunday afternoon. Emergency services were called to Norris Headland at Cabarita Beach, located between Byron Bay and the Tweed, shortly before 4pm. The 16-year-old was bitten on his right arm and right leg, after being attacked while swimming, NSW Surf Lifesaving CEO Stephen Pearce told the ABC. "At this stage I'm unsure of the severity of injuries, but I'm told there were traumatic injuries to the right arm and right leg," he said. NSW Ambulance said he was being flown to a Gold Coast hospital in a serious but stable condition. A video on social media showed the boy being carried up the beach by surfers and other beachgoers. Bystanders tied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding before paramedics arrived at the scene, a NSW Ambulance spokesperson said. "I'm not sure whether he was with any other friends at the time of the incident, but by the time our lifeguards got there he had already had a tourniquet applied to those impacted limbs," Mr Pearce said. A jet ski was used to clear other surfers from the water. A second chopper patrolled the area but no shark activity was sighted. Mr Pearce said with whales migrating up and down the coast at this time of the year, there was always more shark activity around the place."Cabarita Beach is a beautiful, picturesque beach and unfortunately I think it might be a case of 'wrong time, wrong place' at this stage for the young fella," he said. He said the beach will remain closed until Monday, with a decision to be made then about when it will reopen. It is unknown what type of shark attacked the teen.
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