A young surfer’s leg has washed up on shore after he was attacked by a 3m shark in northern NSW.
Kai McKenzie, 23, was attacked in the surf at North Shore Beach in Port Macquarie about 11am on Tuesday.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Young surfer loses leg in horrific shark attack.
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He saw the shark approach and fought it off but his right leg was severed.
Clinging to life, he was able to catch a wave back to the beach where a retired police officer used his dog’s lead as a tourniquet to stem the bleeding before McKenzie was flown to hospital.
Authorities say the former officer’s actions “essentially saved (McKenzie’s) life”.
Some time later, McKenzie’s leg washed up on shore at the beach where it was retrieved by a police officer and placed on ice before also being taken to hospital.
McKenzie is undergoing surgery in Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital, in the hope he can keep his leg.
He is in a serious but stable condition.
McKenzie’s neighbour Lauren Mac has launched a GoFundMe for the young surfer.
“Please dig deep for this family to assist with Kai’s recovery and rehabilitation,” she said.
“The McKenzies are a local family with hearts of gold who would never expect or ask anything of anybody, so let’s give back and show them they have the community’s support in this.”
The shark attack comes just months after McKenzie had returned to surfing after recovering from a broken neck.
“So happy to be back surfing after having a fractured neck,” he posted on Instagram earlier this year.
“Been some real fun times lately.”
Two white sharks were detected at Port Macquarie on Tuesday morning, and one was caught on a drumline on Saturday.
Smart drumlines and a surf lifesaving drone are being used to try to track the shark that attacked McKenzie.
“We will be working … to try to locate that shark and identify what type of shark that was,” Chief Inspector Stuart Campbell said.
Port Macquarie Hastings ALS lifeguards on Wednesday afternoon said beach closures had been lifted in the area following the shark incident.