'I heard this yell': Shark bites off leg of surfer, 61 - but he manages to swim back to shore

A man's leg has been completely severed below the knee after he was attacked by a shark while surfing in the Hawaiian waters of Maui.

The 61-year-old man, named as Kenji in local media and on a Go Fund Me page, was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park on Friday morning when a shark bit him.

His right leg was "completely severed just below the knee," Maui County said in a statement.

Witness David Basques told Hawaii News Now: "I heard this yell and I looked, and all of a sudden I just [saw] him splash, and I don't know what was happening.

"He swam himself back maybe more than half the way and then I [saw] somebody jump in and they went [to] bring him inside."

He was alert while being treated on shore and then taken to Maui Memorial Medical Centre in a critical condition.

A fundraiser for the surfer has already raised $35,831 (£27,746).

"He is currently recovering well in the ICU, but we all want to support Kenji as he continues to heal," it says.

"In true Kenji style, immediately out of surgery, he sagely said, 'I still love the ocean!' and we want to support him in getting back to what he loves."

Maui Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea was quoted as saying: "I would like to commend the patient for his strength and wherewithal, getting himself to shore. I mean, that's extraordinary.

"Whatever Good Samaritans offered assistance, I'd like to commend them as well."

When police officers arrived at the scene, they first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets.

There were no details provided on what kind of shark was involved.

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Officials warned people to stay out of the water in the area and closed the beach park, with people being told to stay out of the water for a mile in each direction of the incident will be in effect until at least noon on Saturday local time.

The warning will be extended if there is a shark sighting in the area - and Maui fire and ocean safety officials were patrolling the waters using rescue watercraft and a drone.

In June, Tamayo Perry, a lifeguard and surfing instructor who also appeared in a Pirates of the Caribbean film, was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu in Hawaii.

(c) Sky News 2024: 'I heard this yell': Shark bites off leg of surfer, 61 - but he manages to swim back to shore