A gay teen will lose his entire leg after he was attacked by a gang wielding machetes in Chile.

Esteban Navarro, 19, is struggling to stay alive in hospital as he recovers from the multiple injuries he suffered from the savage attack.

On 23 June, he was jumped on by a group of six holding knives, iron bars and machetes in Peñalolen. According to reports, they repeatedly called Navarro a ‘maricÃ³n’, or a faggot.

With his foot already amputated, the full leg surgery will take 15 days.

A spokesman for Navarro’s family said they were ‘very sad and concerned’, according to local media.

‘We hope the courts will punish those responsible with the full extent of the law,’ they said. ‘Esteban’s life has changed dramatically.’

Gay rights campaigners have accused authorities of failing to take action against the brutal attempted murder or attacks of LGBT individuals.

Oscar RementeriÃ¡, from the Homosexual Movement of Integration and Liberation (Movilh), criticized the ‘absence of statements’ from the police.

‘A young man has lost his leg, and last May a trans girl aged 16 lost an eye,’ he said.

‘All the authorities have kept their silence on these two cases, which is reprehensible.’

In March last year, 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio was murdered by four neo-Nazis on the streets of the Chile capital Santiago.

A bill was pushed through after his death, the Zamudio law, ensuring punishment against anti-gay violence. It was passed into law in July.

According to Movilh, from 2002 to 2012, 20 people were killed in Chile for their sexual orientation or gender identity, with a total of 965 cases of discrimination.