According to New South Wales Police, 23-year-old Kai McKenzie was surfing off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, when he was attacked by a shark.
“He was able to ride the waves back to shore, barely alive,” a fundraising website set up for MacKenzie said. “A retired police officer used his dog’s lead as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding before the victim was transported by helicopter to hospital.”
Amazingly, Mackenzie’s leg washed up on shore after the attack and doctors hope they will be able to reattach it.
According to ABC News Australia and a fundraising website, Mackenzie has undergone surgery and is in a critical but stable condition.
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According to New South Wales Police, 23-year-old Kai McKenzie was surfing off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, when he was attacked by a shark. (New South Wales Police)
Luke Short, who makes Mackenzie’s surfboards, told ABC they were all “hoping they’d misheard”.
“It’s amazing he survived,” he added.
MacKenzie’s surf team, RAGE, called him “the toughest guy we know.”
“Sending love to our youngest member of the team and one of the toughest people we know, @kai_mckenzie,” the team wrote on Instagram this week. “He was attacked by a shark yesterday while surfing in Port Macquarie and lost his leg. He’s had a rough time last year, including breaking his spine, but he never complained and just got back to doing what he loves as soon as possible. He’s an inspirational guy. We all love you from the Rage Gang. See you soon.”
A shark bite reported at a Hilton Head Island resort is the first reported shark bite on the island this year.
“He was able to ride the waves back to shore, barely alive,” a fundraising website set up for MacKenzie said. “A retired police officer used his dog’s lead as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding before the victim was transported by helicopter to hospital.” (Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Kyran Mowbray of the NSW Ambulance Service described Mr McKenzie as “brave” while speaking to 7News Sydney. “He turned around and rode the waves to shore.”
She added that the off-duty officer “used a dog lead as a tourniquet and wrapped it around the young man’s leg, essentially saving his life.”
“I know he lost a leg, he wrapped it in ice and he’s been diving in the ocean trying to reattach it – it’s just unbelievable that something like that is possible,” Kevin Young, vice president of the Bite Club, a shark attack survivors’ club, told the show.
Mid North Coast Police Chief Superintendent Stuart Campbell said investigations were underway to determine the type of shark that bit Mr McKenzie.
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Port Macquarie-Hastings lifeguards later reported the beach had reopened following the attack.
