Dee Why: Swimmers ordered out of the water after shark bites board, knocks young surfer into ocean

A young surfer has been knocked into the water and had a bite taken out of his board a day after a 12-year-old was mauled by a shark in Sydney.

The 11-year-old was at Dee Why beach on Monday when the frightening encounter unfolded mid-morning.

The boy told the Manly Observer that a shark lunged up into his board, taking several bites and a chunk out of the side.

The boy was unhurt but authorities have ordered swimmers out to the water and the beach closed.

His father was paddling back to his son in the water when the shark, reported to be about 1.5m long, struck.

Another surfer came to the boy’s aid in the meantime after he screamed for help.

The frightening incident came hours after a 12-year-old boy was attacked near Shark Beach, Vaucluse, at 4.20pm on Sunday, about 20km away from the Dee Why attack. He is now fighting for life in Sydney’s Children’s Hospital.

Authorities believe a bull shark was behind Sunday’s attack.

Speaking on Monday, Water Police Superintendent Joseph McNulty called the scene “horrendous” after tourniquets were applied to both the boy’s legs to “stem the bleeding”.

“That young boy was unconscious at the time. He had been bitten by a large shark. And what I can say - the actions of his mates who have gone into the water to pull him out have been - had been nothing but brave,” he told a press conference.

“All I can say - the actions between police - eastern side police, even the team were doing CPR at the time, it was extraordinary. It was a text book recovery to give this boy a fighting chance for survival. He’s in for the fight of his life now and the actions of emergency services yesterday gave him that chance.

“It was a horrendous scene at the time when police attended.”