Cabarita Beach shark attack: Shocking footage emerges after teenage boy mauled, rescuers followed

Shocking footage has surfaced of a shark swimming towards rescuers in waters off the NSW far north coast only moments after it bit a teenage boy.

The 16-year-old was swimming at Cabarita Beach in the Tweed Shire town of Bogangar at about 3.45pm on Sunday when he was attacked by a shark.

The teen suffered serious injuries to the right side, including his wrist, right arm, and right leg.

Brave onlookers scrambled to rescue the boy, dragging him onto shore.

One of the rescuers was an off-duty Queensland paramedic who quickly applied a makeshift tourniquet and put it on the boy to try to stop the bleeding.

The chilling footage captures the shark trailing behind the group as they return to shore, with its fin briefly breaking the surface before veering away.

NSW paramedic Ben Mumford, who responded to the scene, described the footage as “incredible”, praising the courage of those who stepped in.

“It just shows the bravery of the members of the public (and) also the off-duty paramedic that was on scene (who) applied an arterial tourniquet, which can be a life-saving measure for that patient, which made a really big difference for us prior to our arrival,” he told 7NEWS.

Mr Mumford confirmed the teenager had sustained “significant” injuries to his arm and leg.

The boy was stabilised at the scene before being airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he remains in a serious but stable condition as of Monday morning.

Authorities have not confirmed the species of the shark involved, though it’s believed the animal may have initially been pursuing a seal before turning on the boy.

Cabarita Beach will remain closed until at least Monday.