A surfer was left in a serious condition after being attacked by a shark on Australia’s east coast on Friday, suffering bite wounds to his legs and hands.
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Police were called to Main Beach where the man was attacked at approximately 6.20am.
Police said in a statement the man sustained wounds to his legs and hands in the dawn attack on Friday at Evans Head, 340 miles north of Sydney.
Detective Inspector Cameron Lindsay told reporters in Ballina the quick thinking of another surfer and beach walkers who stemmed the flow of blood may have saved Mr Ison’s life.
He was taken by ambulance to Lismore Base Hospital in serious but stable condition.
“[I] just read an update a couple of days ago that there was a couple of four-metre sharks that were spotted around Lennox Point, Boulders Beach and also a five-metre”, Mr Easdown said.
The beach is now closed. On Sunday beaches around nearby Ballina were closed after two sharks were spotted off the coast, a Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman said.
There have been several recent shark sightings around the area, Det Insp Lindsay.
This morning’s attack follows a spate of attacks in north coast waters in recent times.
The attack happened just south of Ballina, a popular tourist spot some 740 kilometres (460 miles) north of Sydney, where a bodyboarder was severely injured by a shark this month.
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In February, a large great white shark tore the legs off 41-year-old surfer, Tadashi Nakaharaa, in a fatal attack at the neighbouring Shelly Beach.
