Shark bites 65-year-old surfer off Australian east coast

SYDNEY – Police say a 65-year-old surfer has been bitten by a shark on his foot and arm off Australia's east coast.

A police statement said the man was bitten Thursday while surfing near Foster, 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Sydney in New South Wales state, and swam to shore.

He was flown by helicopter to a Newcastle hospital in a stable condition.

The Newcastle Herald newspaper published a photograph of the man with his left thumb up as he was wheeled into the hospital. The newspaper also published a photograph of his board bitten in half and with a chunk missing.

The newspaper says the shark is suspected to be a great white estimated at 3 meters (10 feet) long.