Woman, 59, Suffers 'Excruciating' Leg Injury in Shark Attack Near Popular Beach: Reports

A 59-year-old woman is reportedly in a serious but stable condition following a shark attack at a popular beach in Australia.

The attack happened at Gunyah Beach near the south Sydney suburb of Port Hacking at around 1.30 p.m. local time on Friday, March 7, reported multiple outlets including Newscom.au.

Paramedics arrived on the scene to find that the woman had been pulled from the ocean and onto some nearby rocks by two men after she had sustained serious injuries to her leg, added the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

“The bystanders that assisted before we got there were just absolutely remarkable,” Acting Inspector Andrew Bibby from New South Wales Ambulance said, according to ABC.

“The first aid they applied was absolutely spot on and really laid a great foundation for the work we were able to do to try and stabilise her,” he added about the men.

“They’d used towels to try and stem the bleeding … they put a towel around her leg as a makeshift tourniquet and used some other towels to try and pack the wound to stop the bleeding — they did an amazing job”, he continued.

Bibby added that paramedics arrived to find the injured woman in a critical condition. She was stabilized on the beach before she was taken to the hospital, reported the ABC.

“She was able to tell us she felt a strike to the leg very unexpected with immediate excruciating pain,” Bibby said the woman told paramedics as she was being carried off the beach, the outlet added.

“She didn’t report seeing what caused it but most likely a shark, we would think.”

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Local resident Nikki Ahern told the Sydney Morning Herald that sharks are a relatively common sight in the waters around Gunyah Beach.

“When there’s been a shark spotted, some people feel a bit nervous, so we try not to say the ‘S’ word when we’re swimming,” she told the outlet.

“We have dolphins go round us and under us, and we get a fright at first. It’s always a relief to know it’s a dolphin.”

NSW Ambulance did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s request for further information.