Monterey, Calif. ? A shark attacked a surfer Saturday off a California beach, biting him in the neck and arm and sending him to a hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Eric Tarantino of Monterey was attacked around 7 a.m., just minutes after he and a friend entered the water at Marina State Beach, The Monterey Herald reported.

The shark bit Tarantino, 27, on the neck and right forearm and left teeth marks in his red surfboard.

Tarantino’s friend, Brandon McKibben of Salinas, helped him out of the water, and other surfers used beach towels to try to stop his bleeding.

Tarantino was taken to a local airport by paramedics and flown to the San Jose Regional Medical Center, authorities said.