Cops praise boys for ‘brave’ act that saved 12yo’s life in Sydney Harbour shark attack
Cops have praised a group of friends for rescuing a young boy fighting for his life after he was attacked by a bull shark at a popular rock jumping beach in Sydney Harbour.
The 12-year-old boy was bitten by a shark while he was with friends at the rock jump on the Hermitage Foreshore Walk, near Shark Beach in Vaucluse, at around 4.20pm on Sunday.
A large number of teams, including intensive care paramedics and air medical teams, took action to save the child, who was seriously injured in his legs.
He was transported by boat to Rose Bay where he was taken to the Children’s Hospital in Randwick.
Senior Constable John Morris said the boy had a “double tourniquet” applied to his legs by paramedics and police on the cliffs.
“We think the double tourniquet system prevented blood loss at the scene,” he said.
He has since undergone surgery and remains in critical condition with his family by his side.
Friends praised him for his ‘brave’ move
Officer Morris told Sunrise that the boy jumped off the rocks with a group of friends during the attack.
“They were jumping into the muddy water and what we believe was a shark
“The environment bit that child’s legs,” he said.
“One of his friends also jumped into the water to pull him from the water’s edge to that rock platform, thus contributing to saving his life yesterday.”
He said the group of friends who pulled the boy out of the water were “brave.”
“The friend who pulled his friend out of the water onto the rock platform and then into the custody of NSW Police… it was a truly brave act,” he said.
Boy possibly attacked by bull shark in ‘muddy’ waters
He said it was estimated that the attack was caused by a bull shark.
“We believe this has the characteristics of a bull shark, but today we are working with our (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) fisheries units to make further identifications and get our safety message out for swimmers across NSW,” he said.
Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the Department for Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPII) was working to identify the shark.
“This is a tragic shark attack on a young boy swimming at a harbor beach in Sydney’s east on Sunday afternoon,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family. I understand that there were many young people on the beach at the time of the attack, and our thoughts are with them.”
Warning to swimmers after ‘brackish’ water
Constable Morris urged visitors to avoid swimming in the Sydney Harbor Cove River at its mouth and in the Sydney Harbor Cove River, where the water is “brackish”, often a mix of fresh and salt water where the river meets the sea.
“Yesterday’s water was extremely brackish because of the huge amount of rain Sydney experienced over the weekend,” he said.
