A 29-year-old woman had to be hospitalized with
serious injuries
to one of her legs after being attacked this Monday by a
bull shark
while swimming in
Sydney Bay
,
Australia
.
The victim, identified as
Lauren O'Neill
, a young woman
with a passion for kayaking
, was near a private dock in Elizabeth Bay when she suffered a bite to her right leg.
As best she could, she managed to get to some stairs and it was then that she started
screaming for help
.
"She was trying to climb up and behind her was her leg, which was completely
open and full of dark red blood
," a neighbor told
The Sydney Morning Herald
.
Then, more people began to arrive at the scene and contributed to putting pressure on the wound and
stopping the bleeding
.
Fortunately, a veterinarian who lived nearby applied a
makeshift tourniquet
.
“
She was extremely brave
, she was very brave throughout the whole process.
She was lucid and knew everything that was happening, and when she started losing blood
she started to lose consciousness a little
.
She was not in any state of panic, she was very calm," said a witness.
Paramedics treat Lauren O'Neill.
Once the doctors arrived, they provided assistance and rushed her to St. Vincent Hospital.
A spokesperson for that health center said the victim was in
stable condition, although with serious injuries
.
The Department of Primary Industries is investigating the case and its specialists, after analyzing the
bite marks
in photographs , suggested that the attack was carried out by a
bull shark.
Shark attacks in Sydney Bay are rare, but the area is known to be an important habitat for bull sharks and their babies.
In 2009, an Australian Navy diver was mauled by a bull shark during a training exercise in the bay.
He lost an arm and part of a leg.
In February 2022, a swimmer at Sydney Beach died after being attacked by what witnesses said was a 4.5-meter-long great white shark.
It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963.