The severed leg of a 23-year-old Australian surfer who was attacked by a great white shark off the mid-north coast of New South Wales has washed up on the beach, police said.
Kai McKenzie was attacked by a shark at North Shore Beach at Port Macquarie on Tuesday morning around 11am local time and remained in a critical condition. The surfer managed to catch a wave to the shore where bystanders helped treat him after the attack.
An off-duty police officer, who was walking his dog on the beach, used his dog’s leash as a tourniquet around his wound in an attempt to stem the bleeding before paramedics arrived at the scene, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr McKenzie was taken to Macquarie base hospital and later flown to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle where he remained in a stable but critical condition.
The severed leg that washed up on the beach was placed on ice and taken to the hospital about 200km away from the place where the attack occurred. However, doctors will assess whether the leg can be reattached.
Shark biologists from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development reviewed photographs of the incident and identified the shark as a great white approximately 3m in length, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
On Tuesday, the Port Macquarie Hastings Lifeguards stated on social media that beach closures have now been lifted after Tuesday’s incident.
Lauren Mac, a friend and neighbour of Mr McKenzie, launched a GoFundMe to support the surfer. Ms Mac was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph that the family and friends of the surfer were “devastated”.
“It’s another blow after Kai only recently returned to the water after fracturing his neck,” she told the outlet.
“His parents are shocked and devastated. I spoke with them yesterday after they saw Kai in the hospital. They are such a tight-knit family.”
She added: “Kai and all his mates have hearts of gold. He’s the type of person that would give you the shirt off his back.”
“He saw the shark,” Kirran Mowbray, a NSW ambulance worker, was quoted as saying by 10 News First.
“He was able to fight it off. He was very courageous. He turned around and caught a wave into shore.”
“The only person that saw the shark was the young man himself. He was quite calm. He was able to talk with us. He was completely with it,” he added.
Images from the scene showed Mr McKenzie’s surfboard with a chunk bitten off by the shark from its tail. Mr McKenzie is a team rider for Rage, the purple-hued surf grip and hardware brand, according to Surfer.