After being bitten by a shark while surfing at North Steyne Beach in Manly, a man who is thought to be in his 20s is fighting for his life in the hospital.
This is the most recent of several shark incidents that have occurred throughout Sydney which leading to widespread beach closures.
According to NSW Police, reports of a surfer being bitten prompted the despatch of emergency personnel to North Steyne at approximately 6:20 p.m. on Monday, January 19.
Before paramedics could arrive, onlookers pulled the man out of the water and started administering first aid. According to police, he was admitted to Royal North Shore Hospital in critical condition after receiving treatment for severe leg injuries.
The incident was the third shark related event in Sydney in just over 24 hours, following a serious attack in the city’s east on Sunday and a near miss on the Northern Beaches earlier on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, an 11 year old boy was uninjured after a shark took a chunk from his surfboard at Dee Why Beach with authorities saying photo analysis suggested it was likely a bull shark.
The bite happened late morning near Dee Why Point, with surf lifesavers helping the boy and shark protocols triggered at the beach.
On Sunday afternoon, emergency services were called to the Hermitage Foreshore Walk area near Shark Beach at Vaucluse after a 12 year old boy was attacked while jumping into the water with friends.
Police said his friends pulled him from the surf and water police applied tourniquets before he was taken to Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick where he remained in intensive care with critical injuries.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said its scientists could not definitively confirm the species based on photos of the injuries but believed a bull shark was likely responsible based on the nature of the injuries and environmental conditions at the site.
Local MP Kellie Sloane said beachgoers were right to be alarmed and called for expanded drone surveillance while risks to swimmers and surfers were assessed.
