Boy, 6, in Coma After Three Dogs Attack Him

A 6-year-old boy has suffered severe injuries after being attacked by three hunting dogs on a farm in New Zealand.

The unidentified boy was seriously wounded on his upper body and face at the rural property near Manapouri—a small town located on the southwestern corner of the country's South Island—around 7:00 p.m. local time on Friday, the Otago Daily Times reported Monday.

Paramedics, police and fire crews all responded to the scene and the boy was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the city of Dunedin on the southeastern edge of the island.

The boy arrived at the hospital in critical condition, according to a spokeswoman from St. John Ambulance—a charitable organization that provides ambulance services in the country.

Medics at the Dunedin hospital placed the boy in an induced coma and he underwent several surgeries to treat wounds to his face, throat, head, arms and torso. The boy remained in a coma as of Monday.

The boy was visiting the farm with a friend of an employee, Stuff reported. The owner of the farm was not home at the time of the attack, which occurred after work hours.

While the boy was at the property, one of the pig-hunting dogs, that was owned by an employee, attacked the boy, before two others joined in.

The dogs were put down later that evening, but it is not clear whether this was done by the owner or the police.

The boy's grandfather told the Otago Daily Times that the 6-year-old's prognosis was not clear at the moment.

But a police spokesperson said: "I can confirm the victim is in a stable condition in Dunedin Hospital and the dog's owner is fully cooperating with police."

Another child—a 4-year-old—was present at the property at the time of the attack but was not harmed.

Last week, a 9-year-old boy was mauled by two dogs while playing on a trampoline at a friend's house.

During the attack, which occurred in White Lake Township, Michigan, Hunter Heater suffered "massive lacerations and wounds" that were inches from main blood vessels.

In total, the boy was left with 75 bite marks on his body and he had to undergo six hours of surgery during which he received around 200 stitches on his arms, face, legs and neck, and more than 40 staples on his skull.

"It is an image I will never [forget], his skin was just hanging and you could see his skull and his artery in his neck," the boy's mother, Rachel Heater, told WJBK.