Teenager Fights Off Shark During Attack at Cabarita Beach

A volunteer surf lifesaver who helped treat a teenager attacked by a shark on the NSW far north coast says the boy managed to kick the shark as he was being dragged from the water. The 16-year-old is recovering in a Gold Coast hospital with wounds to his right arm and leg after he was bitten a number of times while swimming off Norries Headland at Cabarita Beach on Sunday afternoon. A video circulating on social media appears to show a shark fin emerging just metres away from where the boy is being dragged from the water. The ABC has so far been unable to contact the original creator of the content.

Thiago Collela, a volunteer surf lifesaver with the Rainbow Bay Surf Club, said he was on the headland filming a seal in the water when he heard someone screaming for help. \"I ran down to the beach as fast as I could and saw other surfers carrying the injured boy on a surfboard to nearby grassland where a female paramedic was waiting,\" he said. Mr Collela said he held the injured boy to distract him from the large cut on his arm while the paramedic treated his wounds. He said the teen was brave and remarkably calm. \"I was holding his head while talking to him as she was putting a tourniquet on his wound,\" Mr Collela said. \"He was talking to us and he was not complaining about pain or anything like that. He even said, 'Oh I think I kicked the shark twice' and I said to him, 'Good job'\".

A surfer who was in the water during the attack said he saw a two-metre bull shark in the area, but initially thought it was a dolphin. Bohdi McDonald, 16, was about 30 metres away from where the attacked happened. \"I saw the shark thrashing about in shallow water as people tried to drag the injured boy to shore,\" he said. \"It looked like the shark was trying to bite him again.\" The keen boardrider said he surfed at the beach every day, and was surprised by the attack.

Tweed Shire councillor and surf club patroller, James Owen, said the attack could be linked to an injured seal reportedly seen swimming in the area. Mr Owen said shark attacks could happen at any time, but the seal may have been a contributing factor. \"It could have certainly excited the shark and if there was a lot of activity in the water, as we know, people can potentially be identified as food sources,\" he said. Councillor Owen said shark attacks affected the community, and it would take time for people to return to the water, as it did with the fatal shark attack at Salt Beach, south of Kingscliff, in 2020.

A spokesperson for Gold Coast Health said the teenager remained in a serious condition.