A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after being mauled by a shark while swimming off Shark Beach in Sydney Harbour on Sunday afternoon. New South Wales (NSW) police said the predator inflicted severe leg injuries consistent with an attack by a large shark.
Authorities responded quickly, pulling the boy from the water within minutes of the incident. Officers provided first aid aboard a police boat, applying two tourniquets to control bleeding, before paramedics rushed him to Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Police have closed Shark Beach and evacuated nearby harbour beaches, warning swimmers to avoid the area while wildlife experts work to identify the species involved.
“This is a tragic shark attack on a young boy having a swim on a Sunday afternoon near a harbour beach in Sydney’s east,” NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said. “Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family. I understand there were also other young people with him at the time of the attack our thoughts are also with them.”
Shark attacks, though rare, have been increasing in Australian waters. Since 1791, there have been more than 1,280 recorded incidents, with over 250 resulting in fatalities. Experts attribute the rise to factors including rising ocean temperatures, shifting shark migratory patterns, and increasingly crowded coastal waters, despite overfishing reducing some shark populations.
Recent attacks in the Sydney area underscore the ongoing risk. In September, surfer Mercury Psillakis was killed by a great white shark at a northern Sydney beach, followed two months later by a fatal bull shark attack on a woman swimming off a remote beach north of the city.
Authorities continue to monitor the area and advise all swimmers to stay out of the water until further notice.
