Shark attacks in Australia are sadly quite common. It’s important to keep an eye out for the terrifying predator, and while many escape its jaws, some aren’t that lucky. Last summer, a 16-year-old boy was attacked in New South Wales, and the haunting video shows how the shark chases the swimmer up onto the beach.
More than 20 people suffered from shark attacks in Australia last year. Luckily, not everyone was lethal. Last summer, a 16-year-old was attacked when swimming at Cabarita Beach on the New South Wales north coast. Harrowing footage shows how a 2-meter, almost 7-foot bull shark attacked him.
While many love swimming in the ocean and spending time at the beach, it’s important to know your surroundings. You don’t know what is beneath the surface, and while many, for example, in Australia, surfers might be experienced, a shark attack can never be predicted.
At around 4 pm on June 29, 2025, the alarm sounded from Cabarita Beach that a bull shark had chased a 16-year-old boy, attacking him and leaving him with painful and terrifying injuries in his leg, hand, and arm.
16-year-old boy victim of Australia shark attack
Beach visitors sprang to action to try and help the boy as quickly and safely as they could. Per the Daily Mail, one bystander saw the boy’s arm “dangling by a thread” as he was rescued.
“His bicep was destroyed — you could see all the muscle, flesh, and bone,” the person recalled. “He lost a scary amount of blood. I was covered in it.”
A volunteer surf lifesaver with the Rainbow Bay Surf Club, Thiago Collela, was also at the scene. He explained he was filming a seal in the water when he suddenly heard screams.
“I ran down to the beach as fast as I could and saw other surfers carrying the injured boy on a surfboard to nearby grassland where a female paramedic was waiting,” he told ABC Australia.
He held the boy to distract him from the large cut in his arm while paramedics treated him.
“I was holding his head while talking to him as she was putting a tourniquet on his wound,” Mr Collela said. “He even said, ‘Oh I think I kicked the shark twice,’ and I said to him, ‘Good job.’
The boy survived
16-year-old Bohdi McDonald was just 30 metres away from where the attack happened. He said he saw the shark “trashing about in shallow water” as people tried getting the boy to safety.
“It looked like the shark was trying to bite him again.”
Luckily, the 16-year-old made it out alive. Watch the terrifying video of the incident down below.
READ MORE
- Beach family photo goes viral after viewers spot terrifying detail
- Teen who lost limbs in horrifying shark attack reveals last thing she heard before being bitten
