Surfer saved by strangers after shark attack in Australia

AUSTRALIA (WABC) -- Emergency workers in Australia have praised passers-by for aiding a surfer who was attacked by a shark.

The shark mauled the local man at Main Beach in Evans Head on Friday.

Craig Ison, 52, was out having a morning surf at the north coast break with his friend Geoff Hill when he was attacked.

As Ison tried to paddle back to shore, the shark bit his left leg and knocked him off his board. The former boxer then punched the shark, which took another chunk out of his left arm.

His friend came to his aid and rushed him to shore, where he fashioned a tourniquet out of rope.

Several passers-by ran over to help and placed a towel over the wounds.

"He was badly bitten," Hill said. "He was in shock. We put him on a surfboard for a stretcher."

After his friend and others treated his wounds on the beach, they called for an ambulance.

Police praised the quick-thinking group, saying they almost certainly saved Ison's life.

"Those people are to be praised for their quick thinking, particularly those injuries that needed to be stopped," a detective said.

The attack reportedly left large jaw imprints about 40-centimeter wide in Ison's surfboard.

Paramedics had initially intended to airlift him, but thick fog prevented the rescue helicopter from taking off.

Ison is in the hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Main Beach and two other local beaches, Shark Bay and Chinamans Beach, will be closed until 6:30 Saturday morning.

Beaches between Lennox Head and Ballina has been closed earlier this week after four sharks were spotted in the area.

There have been four serious shark attacks on the north coast since February of this year.