Surgeons race to reattach surfer’s washed-up leg following shark attack

Kai McKenzie survives mauling from three-metre great white by kicking and shoving animal

Australian doctors were in a race against time on Wednesday to reattach a shark attack victim’s leg after the severed limb washed up on a New South Wales beach.
Port Macquarie residents found the bloody leg in the shallows at their North Shore beach on Tuesday, near to where the young competitive surfer had earlier been mauled by a great white.
Family of Kai McKenzie said he was “squeezing every minute out of the day” and rebuilding his surfing career after suffering a spinal injury when he came face-to-face with the jaws of a 3-metre (9ft10) shark.
The 23-year-old survived by kicking and shoving the animal but it grabbed hold of his right leg before he could paddle away. Conscious but quickly losing blood, Mr McKenzie managed to turn his damaged surfboard into a wave and ride it back to shore.
An off-duty policeman stemmed Mr McKenzie’s bleeding by making a tourniquet out of a dog leash, an act Kirran Mowbray, the ambulance duty manager, said “essentially saved his life”.
“He was quite calm and able to talk to us,” Ms Mowbray told local media of Mr McKenzie’s demeanour as they stabilised him at the beach. “He’s just a really brave and courageous young man.”
Mr McKenzie was flown to hospital in Newcastle where he was undergoing surgery while family and the NSW surfing community rallied to raise over $112,000 (£57,000) for his care.
The washed-up leg was seen being carried into the hospital in a polystyrene box.
Michelle McKenzie said her nephew was “an incredible surfer, skater, musician, videographer and all round legend”.
“He has always lived life to the fullest, squeezing every minute out of the day,” she said.
The team at Rage, a surf brand that sponsors Mr McKenzie, said he was “the toughest person we know” and someone who never complained and “just got on with doing what he loved as soon as possible”.
“He has been through a lot breaking his back last year, ” the sponsors wrote on social media.
“He is an inspiring person.”
Authorities reopened the beach on Wednesday afternoon after drone and boat patrols failed to find the great white.
The incident is the second serious attack in Port Macquarie waters in the past year and has reignited questions over the effectiveness of the region’s shark mitigation strategies.
In March 2022, the NSW Government committed $85.6 million to continue tagging sharks, placing nets around some swimming areas and setting drums in the water to intercept dangerous species.
At least 15 great whites were detected in Port Macquarie on the shark system in the past week, local authorities said, and drums were placed 500 metres offshore each day to stop them from coming close to swimmers and surfers.
Though attacks and fatalities are rare, authorities have been urged to find solutions and increase awareness after a recent rise in deaths. There were 10 fatal shark attacks globally last year,  four of them in Australia.