Doctors are desperately trying to save the arms of an Australian spearfisherman after he was attacked by a shark off the coast of central Queensland.
The 31-year-old was diving near Miall Island, near Great Keppel Island when he was mauled by a three-metre shark in deep water, ABC reports.
According to medical staff who attended the scene, the man escaped by punching the shark repeatedly until he could swim back to the boat.
The man is now in a serious but stable condition at Rockhampton Hospital, suffering from significant wounds to his arms.
An ambulance officer, Brad Miers told ABC it appeared the man had been fighting the shark for some time.
He added it was the first attack he had seen in the area during his 25 years working on the job, and that this is a very isolated incident.
Friends of the man helped him back into his boat and luckily a Coast Guard boat was nearby at the time.
The man was transferred to the Coast Guard and was taken to a pontoon at Rosslyn Bay Harbour where he was met by paramedics.
He was treated at the scene before being transported up the road to hospital by ambulance.
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