CANBERRA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- An Australian teenager has suffered "significant" injuries after he was attacked by a shark while spearfishing.
The 17-year-old was spearfishing from a boat approximately 30 kilometers off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory (NT) when he was bitten on the arm and leg by what was believed to be a reef shark.
The group of friends had departed from Nhulunbuy, a town of 3,000 people 900 kilometers east of Darwin, on Sunday morning.
Craig Garraway, a spokesperson for St John Ambulance, said the victim was taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to the Royal Darwin Hospital where he arrived in a stable condition on Sunday evening.
"Due to the significant injuries to his arm, they decided he would be best flown to Darwin for further treatment," Garraway told reporters on Sunday night.
"Obviously there's quite a large amount of bleeding that's occurred.
"I believe the people on the boat have done an amazing job to stem the bleeding and to give him first aid treatment prior to the arrival of paramedics."
The blacktip reef shark and grey reef shark are both commonly found in the tropical waters off Australia's north coast. Both species' typically grow to approximately 1.7 meters in length.
Another 17-year-old boy suffered knee injuries when he was attacked by a bull shark in water south of Nhulunbuy in September but Garraway said shark attacks in the NT were rare.
"I've been around a long time and I'll be honest, I can't remember a shark attack," he said.
"I did time over at Nhulunbuy and I've been involved in Nhulunbuy for a long time and I can't recall one over there."
