A surfer has narrowly escaped with his life after a shark took a huge chunk out of his surfboard at a beach.
Beachgoers at Cabarita Beach, in northern NSW, saw Brad Ross thrashing in the water shortly before 8am on Monday.
Locals likely feared the worst following an attack on a 16-year-old boy by a two-metre shark at the same break six weeks earlier.
Miraculously, Mr Ross emerged from the water unscathed – but the same couldn’t be said for his surfboard.
Confronting photos showed a large bite taken from the board, with the pressure of the attack splitting it in half.
Witnesses reported seeing a four-metre great white shark near the beach.
Surf Lifesaving NSW deployed drones in the area in an attempt to find the shark.
World champion surfer Kelly Slater commented on footage of Mr Ross’ narrow escape, saying he was ‘lucky to be alive’.
‘Great example of why I fear open ocean swimming so much. Surfboards have saved quite a few surfers with that tiny barrier,’ Slater wrote.
Other locals shared their shock after photos of Mr Ross’ surfboard were shared on Instagram.
‘A bit of drama on the beach after I filmed the beautiful sunrise. Another shark attack! I was swimming there this morning too,’ one wrote.
‘Another shark attack at my local beach this morning,’ another said.
‘That’s a decent sized apex predator too! Poor little shark thought he was getting a tasty treat, ends up with a mouth full of fibreglass splinters.’
‘Why I don’t surf. No one injured thankfully. I had my swim at South Hastings early this morning. Sharks don’t go there,’ a third added.
Other joked Mr Ross needed the take advantage of his luck and buy a lottery ticket.
Tweed Shire Council closed the beach following news of the attack.
‘We’ve been advised by Surf Life Saving NSW that Cabarita Beach at Norries Headland is currently closed due to a shark bite incident earlier this morning,’ it said.
‘No one was injured during the incident. We will provide more information as it comes to hand.
‘Please share with your family and friends who may not see this and could be headed to the beach.’
It’s understood Surf Lifesaving NSW was alerted about the attack at Cabarita Beach by a Triple Zero call.