Australian shot with spear gun at shark that killed friend

An Australian teenager who watched a shark attack which killed his friend revealed Tuesday how he fought it off when it came for him.

Matt Pullella and his friend Jay Muscat, 17, were spear fishing in waters near the Western Australian town of Albany in the south of the state when a great white shark mauled Muscat's leg.

The shark, believed to be 4.5 metres long, then reportedly turned on Pullella but he was able to shoot the shark in the mouth with his spear gun.

Matt Pullella paid tribute to his mate in a Facebook message, Xinhua reported.

"The shark hit me first then attacked Jay," he wrote.

"The shark turned and came for me, I pushed the spear gun down its throat and fired the gun."

The action saved his life, Nine News reported.

It was the 15th shark attack in Western Australia since 2010, 10 of them fatal.

Monday's shark attack came two weeks to the day after the fatal savaging of another young man on the other side of the country.

He was Queenslander Daniel Smith, 18, whose leg, groin and arm were mauled while he too was spear fishing off the world renowned tourist town of Port Douglas.