SYDNEY - A teenager has been hospitalized after being attacked by a shark at a beach on Australia's east coast.

The 16-year-old boy was swimming at Cabarita Beach, over 650 km north of Sydney in the state of New South Wales (NSW), on Sunday afternoon when he was bitten on the right arm and right leg.

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Emergency services were called to the beach around 4 pm local time and airlifted him to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said that fellow beach-goers helped the boy out of the water and tied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding before emergency services arrived at the scene.

The beach has been closed until at least Monday afternoon.