A 29-year-old woman was the victim of a shark attack in Australia on Monday evening. This is the first shark attack in Sydney Harbor since 2009.
A shark attacked a woman swimming in Sydney's famous harbor, seriously injuring her leg, authorities and media announced on Tuesday, January 30.
The attack occurred Monday evening from a pontoon in Elizabeth Bay, an area less than two kilometers from the famous opera house, police said. She was “seriously injured in her right leg,” New South Wales Police said in a statement.
The victim was hospitalized in the intensive care unit
People immediately rushed to help this 29-year-old woman, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing a local resident who heard a cry for help from home.
“She was trying to get out of the water using the ladder and behind her was her leg that was completely ripped open and covered in blood,” Michael Porter testified. “It was surreal.”
According to the newspaper, a nearby veterinarian placed a tourniquet on him. The victim was admitted to the intensive care unit at St. Vincent Hospital, a hospital spokesman said, adding that her condition was stable.
This is the first shark attack in Sydney Harbor since 2009. This year, an Australian Navy diver was attacked in the arm and leg by a bull shark in Woolloomooloo Bay.
In February 2002, Simon Nellis, a 35-year-old British diving instructor, was eaten by a shark off Little Bay Beach in Sydney. It was the first fatal attack in the city since 1963.