Teen Aussie surfer recounts chilling moment a huge shark bit his leg at Pyramids beach in Western Australia before the animal swam away

A young Australian surfer has recounted the horrifying moment he was bitten by a shark while surfing off the coast of Dawesville, Western Australia on Tuesday.

Zachary Hlaing, 15, was surfing at Pyramids beach at around 5.40am this morning when he felt ‘something latch onto his leg’.

The surfer realised that he had been bitten by a big shark and is now reportedly awaiting surgery after he had been left with six deep cuts to his left leg and foot. He is though in a stable condition at the Peel Health Campus.

According to The Mirror, the surfer has ‘several pieces of the shark’s tooth or possibly bone’ lodged in his leg, following the incident.

‘It all happened so fast,’ he told 7NEWS reporters outside the Peel Health Campus.

‘I just felt something grab my leg and then it kind of shook it a little bit and let go,’ he added.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT 

He had been waiting to catch a wave, when the incident occurred, with the 15-year-old surfer revealing the shark had splashed its tail before swimming off.

WA authorities have said that the shark was 2m long, but the animal’s species has not yet been identified yet.

‘We saw a big tail just flap up and a big splash and then it let go and swam off,’ the teen said.

After the shark had swam away, the teenager, who admitted he had been in shock, began paddling back to shore.

‘I was just in shock. We hopped on the boards and started paddling – kind of didn’t think anything of it really, just went in,’ he said.

‘(It) didn’t really hurt or anything because I was still in shock.’

He has been praised by local Jay Reeves, who was also about to enter the water with his board, before he had been alerted by one of the Hlaing’s group to the incident.

‘He got back on his board and started paddling and was just calm as anything,” Mr Reeves said to The West Australian.

‘When he lifted his foot out you could see the blood dripping from his foot on his calf. He had a laceration and a cut onto his foot as well.

‘I left the boys to start the car because they had come on pushbikes.

‘I ran over as he’s come out with blood dripping so I put him on my back and ran to the car. I got his foot wrapped up in a towel and chucked him in the car and took him straight to hospital.’

The City of Mandurah rangers have subsequently closed Pyraminds beach to 1km of either side of where the incident took place.

If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600

More to follow…