AN IRISH DOCTOR living in Australia helped save a shark attack victim in Sydney, New South Wales during a spate of four shark attacks in the state in the space of 48 hours.

Dublin man Brian Burns joined a team of first responders after he came across a man who had been bitten by a shark near the coastal town of Manly.

Speaking to RTÉ News, the clinical professor of emergency medicine said he was on a run when his training “kicked into gear” to save the man.

“I found a young man who had clearly been pulled out of the surf following a shark bite and he was in cardiac arrest,” he said.

Burns helped the lifeguards performing CPR as the paramedics had not yet arrived.

“Once they arrived, we moved onto the next phase which is advanced life support and got some fluids and adrenaline into him,” he said.

He then assisted with resuscitation, helping the paramedics and emergency medical team who arrived by helicopter.

“Once his heart started beating again, we got him to the trauma centre at Royal North Shore Hospital, where I work, and he was brought directly to surgery,” he said.

He said a blood system in place in Sydney allows blood products to be transported to patients on the beach, so the man had received around 12 units of blood by the time he arrived at hospital.

The shark attack survivor remains in intensive care, however Burns said the quick actions of first responders have given him every chance of survival.

It was the first time treating a shark bite for the doctor, who has been living in Australia for 22 years.

“It used to be a pretty rare event but is certainly happening now more commonly than it used to,” he said, adding that most shark bites are fatal.

Heavy rains stirring up murky waters have been blamed for the unusual spate of attacks in the state of New South Wales.

Swimmers and surfers were warned to steer clear of beaches in parts of eastern Australia this week.