Family heartbroken after 12-year-old son Nico dies following horror Sy | World | News
A family has expressed their “heartbreak” after their “full of life” son died a week after he was attacked by a shark. Nico Antic was mauled by a shark in Sydney on Sunday (January 18).
He was rushed to Sydney Children’s Hospital and was in a coma after the horrific incident at Nielson Beach, known as Shark Beach. Almost a week after their parents’ tragedy, Lorena and Juan expressed their “heartbreak” as they shared the news of their son’s death.
In a statement, the family said: “Nico was a happy, friendly and sporty young boy with an extremely kind and generous spirit. He was always full of life and that is how we will remember him.
“We would like to sincerely thank the first responders and the teams at Randwick Sydney Children’s Hospital for everything they did to care for Nico. “We would also like to thank everyone in the community for their support and kind messages.
“We ask that you respect our privacy during this extraordinarily difficult time.”
Nico was injured while jumping into the water from the rocks at the end of the beach with his friends. The incident was the first in a series of four shark attacks in New South Wales, Australia.
Earlier in the week Nico’s sister Sophie told the Daily Mail that Nico was “still asleep but unable to do so as his brain is completely unresponsive”.
Sophie added: “He’s a sporty boy and never fails to make people smile. He’s loved by his many friends and family.”
Commenting on increased shark activity in Sydney, Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce told Australian national broadcaster ABC: “After a major weather event there will always be a lot of current and streams flowing into the ocean and into estuaries. We strongly advocate that no one swims or surfs near estuaries because it’s clearly an area where sharks congregate. If it’s dirty water I’d think twice about going in there.”
Peace added: “We have water quality that is too poor to allow bull shark activity… [so] “Just go to a local pool as we advise beaches are unsafe at this stage.”
