Man in critical condition with ‘probably life-changing injuries’ after third Sydney shark attack in two days | Sydney

It was stated that a man believed to be in his 20s was in critical condition after being bitten by a shark in the third attack in two days off Sydney beaches.

He was taken to the Royal North Shore hospital on Monday evening after New South Wales ambulance crews treated the man at Manly beach, north of Sydney, following the attack.

Northern beaches police area commander Supt John Duncan said the man had come to Manly to surf and was about 40 meters from the beach at around 6.15pm when the attack took place.

“Witnesses heard him report a shark and then suffered a shark bite on his leg,” Duncan said Tuesday morning, describing the injuries as “possibly life-changing.”

“Surf lifeguards and emergency personnel in the area responded quickly.”

The man remained in hospital in critical condition after undergoing surgery Monday night.

Christie Marks from NSW ambulance said the man was in cardiac arrest when emergency crews arrived and the patient had lost “too much blood” and required CPR. A member of the highway patrol encountered an ambulance on its way to the hospital to give the ambulance crew extra blood needed on the road.

The man was given 13 units of blood on the way to the hospital.

“This is not something that happens very often, and this will be the best thing that will give him the best chance of survival,” Marks said. An ambulance doctor in NSW was swimming on the beach at the time of the attack and was part of the initial efforts to treat the man, he said.

“Anything people do together and institutions working together is this patient’s best chance for survival.”

Beaches in the area will remain closed Tuesday morning.

“All beaches on the northern beaches are closed until further notice and this situation will be under constant review,” police said in a statement on Monday. he said.

It comes after an 11-year-old surfer had his board bitten off by a shark at Dee Why, just a few kilometers away, and a 12-year-old boy was attacked one day while swimming in Sydney Harbor in the eastern suburbs.

The 11-year-old boy was surfing at Dee Why beach on Monday morning when a shark bit his board several times, tearing off a chunk of its middle.

The surfer was uninjured and was pulled out of the water by others.

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Northern Beaches council lifeguards immediately sounded the alarm, put up shark warning signs and sent a jet ski to patrol the water. Surf Life Saving NSW launched a drone to assist with the investigation but no further sightings were made before noon.

A 15cm bite mark on the young surfer’s board indicates he was most likely attacked by a bull shark, according to shark biologists from the primary industry department.

A shark net had been set up as normal at Dee Why beach, which was closed due to big waves and dangerous surf at the time of the attack.

Dee Why is also a short distance from where keen surfer Mercury Psillakis, 57, was fatally injured by a shark in September.

Police on Monday warned people not to swim in murky, low-visibility water after a downpour drenched Sydney and surrounding areas at the weekend.

On Sunday afternoon, three teenagers leapt into action to save the life of a friend who was seriously injured in a shark attack at Vaucluse in Sydney’s east. The 13-year-old boy, who was injured in both legs, remained in the hospital in critical condition after surgery.

Supt Joseph McNulty said the extra fresh water in the harbor after the recent heavy rain, combined with the splash effect of people jumping off the rock face, had created the “perfect storm” for Sunday’s shark attack.

“I would advise against swimming in the harbor or any of our other river systems in NSW at this time,” he told reporters before the Dee Why incident was reported.

Heavy waves had also disrupted the operation of smart barrel lines that notify authorities of shark activity along much of the NSW coast since Sunday.

In the Vaucluse attack, at least one of the victim’s friends jumped into the water and pulled him out, while others called emergency services, McNulty said.

“The actions of his friends who went into the water to pull him out were brave,” he said.

“That action by these young men was very brave under the circumstances and facing the injuries that those kids could see, but I guess that’s friendship.”

The primary industries department is trying to identify the shark species involved but initial reports suggest it was a bull shark.

In recent years, many swimmers in the harbor have been attacked by sharks; these include a young woman who was bitten on the leg in Elizabeth Bay in early 2024.

Psillakis’ death at Long Reef beach on Sydney’s northern beaches prompted the state government to sue to remove shark nets from a handful of popular beaches.