Surfer who had 'five per cent' chance of surviving shark attack was helped saved by passerby trauma doctor

Andre de Ruyter lost nearly all of his blood during the attack on his right leg just off the coast of Sydney on Monday evening.

The 27-year-old reportedly fell into cardiac arrest but was saved thanks to a string of interventions by first responders and bystanders on the beach.

He was attacked by what is thought to have been a bull shark shortly after paddling out to sea at Manly Beach.

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Two nearby surfers were able to hear his cries for help and swam towards him before carrying his wounded body back to land.

One of the men, Ash, told local 10 News TV station: "I told him not to look back, don’t look at your leg, just keep paddling."

But by the time they reached the sand, Mr de Ruyter was in cardiac arrest and had an estimated survival chance of less than five per cent, The Telegraph reports.

The first responders then used a leash to fashion a tourniquet around his right leg.

Ash added: "He said to me, 'tourniquet, tourniquet, tourniquet.’ He saved himself in a way. I started screaming it."

The pair then managed to get the attention of the nearby North Steyne Surf Life Saving Club, where junior members were taking a CPR course.

Five people from the club ran over with emergency trauma kits and a defibrillator and by chance, there also happened to be two doctors, a nurse and a paramedic on the beach nearby.

One of those who arrived on the scene was Professor Brian Burn, a trauma consultant with the Northern Sydney Local Health District.

Local reports suggested Professor Burns acted quickly to keep Mr de Ruyter alive, but it was still believed he was likely to die.

Paramedics arrived and supplied four units of blood, which is double the usual amount, before Mr de Ruyter's pulse returned.

He was taken by ambulance to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition after his lower right leg was amputated.

Zali Steggall, the MP for Sydney’s Warringah district, paid tribute to the rescue effort afterwards.

She said: "Thank you to the incredibly brave surfers, first responders, lifeguards and community members who rushed to help following this tragic incident."

Ms Steggall also said the beaches would be closed following the spate of attacks.

It comes after 12-year-old boy Nico Antic was also left in a critical condition after he was bitten by a suspected bull shark while swimming with friends at a rock jumping point at Shark Beach in the Vaucluse area of Sydney.

Just a few miles away, another boy, 11, narrowly avoided death after a large shark bit a chunk out of his surfboard on Monday morning, throwing the young victim into the water.