Beaches in northern Sydney remained closed on Tuesday (Jan 20) after a man in his 20s was bitten by a shark, marking the city’s third shark attack in just two days. Heavy rains have left the waters murky, increasing the likelihood of shark encounters.
Emergency services were called to a beach in Manly on Monday evening following reports that a surfer had been attacked, according to New South Wales police.
Eyewitness Max White said another surfer kept the man alive by using his surfboard’s leg rope as a makeshift tourniquet to control the bleeding. “He was breathing but unconscious, and we just tried to keep him awake, along with everyone else around us. Everyone was involved,” he told state broadcaster ABC.
Paramedics treated the man for serious leg injuries before transporting him to the hospital in critical condition.
Police said all beaches in the Northern Beaches area, which stretches along Sydney’s northern coastline, will remain closed until further notice.
The attacks come after days of heavy rain that washed into the city’s harbour and coastal waters, creating ideal conditions for bull sharks, the species suspected in some of the attacks. Bull sharks thrive in murky, brackish water.
“If anyone is thinking of heading into the surf along the Northern Beaches this morning, think again,” Steven Pearce, chief executive of Surf Life Saving NSW, told reporters on Tuesday. “We have such poor water quality that it’s really conducive to bull shark activity.”
On Monday, a 10-year-old boy escaped unharmed after a shark knocked him off his surfboard and bit a chunk out of it. A day earlier, another boy was left in critical condition following a shark bite at a city beach.
Australia averages around 20 shark attacks per year, with fewer than three fatalities annually, according to conservation groups. These numbers remain far lower than the number of drownings on the country’s beaches.
