A 12-year-old boy accidentally shot and wounded two members of his family with a 12-gauge shotgun on Bathurst Island.

A 19-year-old man had emergency surgery to save his left arm, while the second victim, a 14-year-old boy, suffered wounds to his abdomen.

Both teenagers were flown to Royal Darwin Hospital by CareFlight at 12.30pm on Sunday.

Territory Duty Superintendent Brendan Muldoon said the gun was accidentally discharged, and that police would investigate how the boys came to be in possession of the firearm.

“They were flown by CareFlight to Royal Darwin Hospital, but the injuries weren’t considered to be life threatening, but some serious injuries nonetheless,” he said.

“One of the boys received a blast to his left arm and there was some concern at some stage he might lose that arm, but that’s not the case. After surgery they have managed to repair that.

“The other boy received some shot gun pellets to his abdomen.”

He said police would investigate how the firearm was stored.

“That’s a matter for our investigation to decide the circumstances surrounding the boys becoming in possession of the firearm,” he said.

“It’s believed the shooting itself was an accidental shooting. It’s just the storage around the firearm security is a matter for our investigation as well.”

CareFlight spokesman Ian Badham said the teenagers were stabilised by two doctors and a nurse.