A hero surf lifesaver has revealed the moment he rushed to save a woman mauled by a shark at Sydney’s iconic Coogee Beach.

The woman, 35, was swimming with two friends within the flagged area when she was attacked on Saturday morning.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Woman fights for life after Coogee Beach shark attack

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Surf lifesaver Charlie Verco, 24, raced towards danger to help save the woman as the shark continued circling in the bloody water.

“I’d like to think I did enough to get her in fast enough,” he told 7NEWS.

“Once I had her next to me, I was just going, ‘keep your head above water, keep breathing, you’re doing really well, we’re almost at the beach.’

“Just anything, I guess, to feel the silence. It wasn’t conversational. She was not in a great way.”

Footage showed the woman clinging to life on the hero’s paddle board while a shark alarm blares in the background as he brought her back to shore.

On the beach was an off-duty critical care doctor, paramedics and lifeguards who were waiting to save the woman who was then rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital.

“The patient has left thigh and left forearm lacerations down to the bone, tourniquets applied,” paramedics said.

The 35-year-old is still in a critical condition at hospital.

The attack, which occurred about 30 metres offshore at the patrolled beach, was witnessed by hundreds.

Crowds broke into applause for Verco after he pulled the woman from the water following the attack.

“You’re a hero,” one onlooker yelled as he was swamped by others and lifeguards who patted him on the back while walking up the beach.

A great white shark up to 3.5 metres long was spotted nearby on Saturday however the predator responsible has not been identified.

“I’ve been in the water a lot, so I’ve seen a lot of sharks. This is probably the second biggest one I’ve ever seen,” Verco said.

Visitors were enjoying a beautiful day when screams broke out

Locals told 7NEWS.com.au the woman was one of three swimmers about 30m offshore near the centre of the beach when she was attacked.

A witness told 7NEWS there was a large amount of blood in the water following the attack.

“It’s just everyone sitting on the stairs and enjoying this beautiful day and then her screams, which didn’t sound right,” the witness said.

“And then just one girl sort of coming to shore and then this shark alarm and a lot of blood in the water.

“It just took a moment to kind of realise that this was actually a shark attack.”

Joanne Feddler, who was swimming nearby at the time, told 7NEWS she started heading back to shore after hearing “the most terrifying screams”.

“When I got out of the water, I could see that there was this big dark patch in the water,” Feddler said.

“I got onto the beach and it was really quick — the rescuers came and they pulled her out of the water.

“I saw when they pulled her out of the water, she had a massive chunk of her leg bitten off.”

Having swum in the area for eight years, Feddler said she never imagined a shark attack could happen at Coogee.

“She was literally 50m behind me. I had literally been swimming in the same water. It was just the most shocking thing.”

Another witness also said it was shocking to see a shark attack at Coogee.

“Five years, I’ve never, ever seen a shark attack here before, so it’s shocking for the community, yeah,” she said.

Coogee is widely regarded as one of Sydney’s calmer, family-friendly beaches.

Beaches along Sydney’s eastern suburbs closed

Randwick City Council said the shark involved is believed to have been between 3m and 4m long.

Beaches from Bondi to Maroubra have since been closed.

“Unsurprisingly, there are lots of very shaken up individuals right now having witnessed a very scary incident,” Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said.

“Our beaches are closed for at least the next 24 hours and we strongly advise the community to stay out of the water.

“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the woman, her friends and family. The whole community is behind her and wishing her a speedy recovery.”

Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club will hold a community meeting on Monday night for metnal health support.

Coogee Beach and the rest of the eastern suburbs’ coastline will remain closed on Sunday.

It is the fourth attack in Australia in weeks, just last Saturday Daniel Turpin, 35, was killed while he was spearfishing with his family off Michaelmas Island near Albany in Western Australia’s Great Southern.

Experienced spearfisherman Michael Jensz was killed while diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland on May 24.

Father-of-two Steven Mattaboni was bitten on the lower legs by a great white shark off Western Australia’s Rottnest Island on May 16 while spearfishing. The 38-year-old could not be saved.

His family said the much-loved husband’s final dive was something he had done thousands of times before with “no signs of danger” before the attack.

The latest attack has prompted renewed calls for greater investment in shark mitigation measures.

Central Coast councillor Jared Wright said the incident highlighted the need for more shark surveillance programs and shark listening stations at beaches across NSW.

“There has been a clear rise in the number of shark attacks over the past 12 months, which highlights that there is still more to be done to help keep beachgoers safe right across NSW,” Wright said.

He said Coogee Beach did not currently have an active Surf Life Saving NSW drone patrol or shark listening station and argued those measures should be expanded to more beaches.