Story highlights Shark took large chunk of surfer's leg

His friend swam to him and used leg rope to make a tourniquet

Connellan is in a "serious but stable" condition

(CNN) A professional surfer was hospitalized after he was mauled by a shark off the Australian eastern coast on Wednesday evening.

22-year-old Brett Connellan was surfing on Bombo Beach in Kiama, about 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) south of Sydney, when he was attacked. He lost a significant chunk of his left thigh, CNN-affiliate Seven News reports, and his hand was also mauled while trying to fight off the shark.

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Witnesses say there were over a dozen surfers at the beach that evening but Connellan was around 50 meters (about 165 feet) out from the group when the attack occurred.

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