A man in his 60s has suffered a deep shark bite to his left foot south of Port Kembla in the NSW Illawarra.
The incident occurred on this morning at Windang, with three ambulance crews and a helicopter attending the scene.
The bite went through to the bone of his foot and caused ligament damage, but bleeding was controlled.
The man was transported to Wollongong Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Terry Morrow said such emergency call-outs had the potential to escalate quickly and encouraged all swimmers to take care.
"Paramedics often cannot be sure how extensive the injuries are going to be or how critical the patient is," Insp Morrow said in a statement.
"When attending these jobs, it is paramount that the bleeding is under control as quickly as possible as it affects the patient's recovery if they lose large pools of blood."
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