NT Police have arrested and charged an 18-year-old man following an alleged axe attack on a remote island off the Arnhem Land coast, which left an axe stuck in a 16-year-old girl’s back.

The alleged attack happened in the small town of Alyangula on Groote Eylandt, about 600 kilometres east of Darwin in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Police officers were called to an outstation at about 5.30pm yesterday, finding a 16-year-old girl with an axe “embedded” in her lower back.

“The victim was airlifted to Darwin in a stable condition,” Watch Commander Siiri Tennosaar said.

“As far as I understand she remains stable in the Royal Darwin Hospital receiving medical treatment.”

Police arrested an 18-year-old man over the incident, and believe he and the girl knew each other.

“The exact circumstances for how it all came to be is not known at this stage,” Watch Commander Tennosaar said.

The man has been charged with recklessly endangering serious harm and has been granted bail to attend court at a later date.

Police said their investigation was ongoing.

-ABC