SYDNEY – A man died after being attacked by what is said to have been a “large shark” off the coast of northern Sydney on Saturday. New South Wales police say that the man was retrieved from the morning surf at Long Reef Beach, but sadly, he “died at the scene.”
After reports that a guy had “critical injuries” in the water, the police were called. Police and paramedics went to the location as part of emergency services. Reports say that the man, whose name has not yet been made public, was a surfer. Two pieces of a surfboard were found in the ocean and transported to a forensic lab to find out what kind of shark was involved.
A surfer who didn’t want to be named told the media that four or five other surfers dragged the victim out of the water. He claimed it “looked like a big part of his lower half had been attacked.” The witness also said that they heard a surf lifesaving official waving a red flag and calling out a shark alarm, which made people get out of the water.
Authorities have blocked all Pacific Ocean beaches in the northern suburbs of Manly and Narrabeen “pending further notice” because of the deadly attack. Police are working with experts from the Department of Primary Industries to find the shark and keep the public safe.
Since February 2022, when 35-year-old British diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed near Little Bay, this is the first shark attack in Sydney that has killed someone. The last deadly attack in the city before it was in 1963.