A SURFER was horrifically mauled by a shark in a dangerous attack off the coast of Maui in Hawaii.

The 61-year-old man, identified as Kenji was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park Friday morning when a shark bit him.

His right leg was completely severed just below the knee, Maui County said in a news release.

Police officers who arrived at the scene first tried to control the bleeding with tourniquets.

Kenji, a local resident of the area who regularly visited the beach for surfing, said he did not see the shark approach while he was being treated.

He was then taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition.

David Basques who witnessed the horror incident told Hawaii news Now: "I heard this yell and I looked, and all of a sudden I just [saw] him splash, and I don't know what was happening.

"He swam himself back maybe more than half the way and then I [saw] somebody jump in and they went [to] bring him inside."

Authorities were forced to close the beach park after the deadly attack whole people were warned to stay out of the water in the area.

Maui fire and ocean safety officials were seen patrolling the waters using rescue watercraft and a drone.

State officials provided shark warning signs and helped with cordoning off the area.

There were no details provided on what kind of shark was involved.

In June, well-known surfer Tamayo Perry was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu's North Shore.

It comes after a US tourist was eaten up by a shark after she was swept away by strong currents during a dream diving holiday in Indonesia.

The body of the 68-year-old American Colleen Monfore from South Dakota, was found inside the stomach of a shark by horrified fishermen.

The woman was on a diving boat trip with six friends around the Pulau Reong island when tragedy struck on September 26.

She was dragged away by the strong currents with her desperate group, and the guide was unable to pull her back to the boat.

Rescue teams searched for eight days before finally giving up on October 3 due to the dangerous conditions at sea and the low chance of finding the tourist.

Tragically, a fisherman in the neighbouring country of East Timor found human remains in the belly of a shark.

Meanwhile, horror footage caught the terrifying moment a diver came face-to-face with a great white shark that kept circling around him for an agonising five minutes.

Tim Ryan shared the nail-biting footage of his encounter with the huge 13ft beast while his mate was inside a cave looking for crayfish.

It comes as a bunch of vengeful locals tracked down and battered a mega-shark after it mauled a tourist.

Cruel shark hunters dealt several blows to the beast's head after the tourist was left with gaping wounds to his torso and right leg in a savage attack.

The 38-year-old was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment while the authorities closed the beach in the resort town of Tela in Honduras, Central America.

Following the attack, several locals then went out to sea looking for the suspected predator.

In the footage, the hunters are seen dangling bait in the water before hooking what they believe is the shark responsible for the mauling.

They then cruelly reel the animal alongside their boat before unleashing a horrific attack on the shark.

Footage shows a cruel local repeatedly whacking the shark on the head as it's hooked and helpless.

The predator struggles to swim away while the man keeps it next to the boat and continues bludgeoning its head.