(CNN) A man has been airlifted to the hospital after being bitten by a shark off the coast of New South Wales in Australia, according to local police.

Police said in a statement Sunday that emergency services were called to Byron Bay around 6:40 a.m. local time, after reports that a man surfing near Belongil Beach was bitten on the leg by a shark.

The 41-year-old local man returned to shore on his board and alerted other surfers, police said.

He was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics, before being airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital in serious but stable condition, the statement said.

Belongil Beach and Main Beach have been closed for 24 hours.

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