A surfer in Australia had to be airlifted to the hospital after he was attacked by a shark and his severed leg later washed ashore, leaving doctors to try to reattach it.
The 23-year-old male surfer, Kai McKenzie, was attacked by a shark near Port Macquarie in New South Wales, and remained in critical but stable condition on Tuesday, ABC News reported. Video of McKenzie’s surfboard with a chunk removed shows just how terrifying the attack was.
“The man saw the shark approach him, he was able to fight it off, he was pretty courageous and able to turn around and catch a wave to shore,” New South Wales Ambulance Service acting duty operations officer in Hastings South, Kirran Mowbray, told the outlet.
“He was very lucky at the time we had a [off duty] police officer that was walking his dog, she added.
23-year-old Kai McKenzie was attacked while surfing in New South Wales, Australia. https://t.co/UjcMObwR0T
— SURFER (@Surfer) July 23, 2024
Mowbray said the off-duty officer “used a lead off the dog as a tourniquet to wrap around the young man’s leg and essentially saved the man’s life until the paramedics got there.”
After McKenzie was taken to a nearby hospital, his severed leg washed up on shore. Locals put it on ice before taking it to the hospital, the New York Post noted.
Both the surfer and his leg were then flown to John Hunter Hospital — a major trauma center — where he underwent emergency surgery, ABC noted. Doctors then had to try and figure out whether the leg could be reattached, the outlet noted.
The report doesn’t indicate if the surgery to reconnect the leg happened or was successful.
The surfer is a member of the RAGE team who released a statement after he was hospitalized that read, “Sending love to @kai_mckenzie the youngest RAGE boy on the team and the toughest person that we know,” Surfer.com noted.
“Yesterday he was attacked by a shark and has lost his leg while surfing in Port Macquarie,” it added. “He has been through a lot breaking his back last year, he never once complained always just got on with doing what he loved as soon as possible. He is an inspiring person. The whole rage gang loves you man and we will see you soon.”
McKenzie had only recently recovered and returned to the water after he had suffered a fractured neck last year, the outlet noted.
“So happy to be back surfing after having a fractured neck been some real fun times lately,” McKenzie wrote on social media.
Related: Netflix Film Crew Described Being Attacked By Sharks In Hawaii: ‘Like Something Out Of Jaws’
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A surfer in Australia had to be airlifted to the hospital after he was attacked by a shark and his severed leg later washed ashore, leaving doctors to try to reattach it.
The 23-year-old male surfer, Kai McKenzie, was attacked by a shark near Port Macquarie in New South Wales, and remained in critical but stable condition on Tuesday, ABC News reported. Video of McKenzie’s surfboard with a chunk removed shows just how terrifying the attack was.
“The man saw the shark approach him, he was able to fight it off, he was pretty courageous and able to turn around and catch a wave to shore,” New South Wales Ambulance Service acting duty operations officer in Hastings South, Kirran Mowbray, told the outlet.
“He was very lucky at the time we had a [off duty] police officer that was walking his dog, she added.
23-year-old Kai McKenzie was attacked while surfing in New South Wales, Australia. https://t.co/UjcMObwR0T
— SURFER (@Surfer) July 23, 2024
Mowbray said the off-duty officer “used a lead off the dog as a tourniquet to wrap around the young man’s leg and essentially saved the man’s life until the paramedics got there.”
After McKenzie was taken to a nearby hospital, his severed leg washed up on shore. Locals put it on ice before taking it to the hospital, the New York Post noted.
Both the surfer and his leg were then flown to John Hunter Hospital — a major trauma center — where he underwent emergency surgery, ABC noted. Doctors then had to try and figure out whether the leg could be reattached, the outlet noted.
The report doesn’t indicate if the surgery to reconnect the leg happened or was successful.
The surfer is a member of the RAGE team who released a statement after he was hospitalized that read, “Sending love to @kai_mckenzie the youngest RAGE boy on the team and the toughest person that we know,” Surfer.com noted.
“Yesterday he was attacked by a shark and has lost his leg while surfing in Port Macquarie,” it added. “He has been through a lot breaking his back last year, he never once complained always just got on with doing what he loved as soon as possible. He is an inspiring person. The whole rage gang loves you man and we will see you soon.”
McKenzie had only recently recovered and returned to the water after he had suffered a fractured neck last year, the outlet noted.
“So happy to be back surfing after having a fractured neck been some real fun times lately,” McKenzie wrote on social media.
Related: Netflix Film Crew Described Being Attacked By Sharks In Hawaii: ‘Like Something Out Of Jaws’
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