A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was bitten by a shark while fishing with friends.

The Australian teen and his pals were at Thursday Island, off the coast of the country’s northernmost tip, Saturday evening when a shark entered the water and latched onto the boy’s torso, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported.

Witnesses, believed to be the boy’s friends, jumped in and dragged him to safety.

Emergency crews arrived minutes later and he was rushed to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to a medical centre in North Queensland, where he underwent “urgent surgery,” according to a news release from the Torres Shire Council.

The teen suffered significant blood loss and life-threatening injuries to his abdomen and internal organs, ABC reported.

“This

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