Moment shark chases 16-year-old boy to land after mauling him off popular beach captured in terrifying footage

Dramatic video captured the terrifying moment a shark raced toward land behind a 16-year-old boy it had severely mauled off a popular crowded beach in Australia.

The teen was attacked by the predator at Cabarita Beach in Bogangar, New South Wales, shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, 9 News Australia reported.

The nearly 7-foot shark mauled the right side of the boy’s body, severely injuring his leg, hand and arm, the outlet said.

Chilling footage showed bystanders rushing to help the boy while the shark, visible by its fin, was still lurking close behind him.

Screams from onlookers were heard as a good Samaritan bravely punched the shark to keep it at bay, the outlet said.

The group then carried the teen out to safety on a surfboard they made into a makeshift stretcher, the outlet said.

An off-duty paramedic from Queensland helped the teen and used a tourniquet to help stop his bleeding, according to the report.

“I’m not sure whether he was with any other friends at the time of the incident, but by the time our lifeguards got there, he had already had a tourniquet applied to those impacted limbs,” NSW Surf Lifesaving CEO Stephen Pearce told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation 

After paramedics arrived, the teen was airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital in serious but stable condition.