A first since 2009. A shark attacked a woman who was swimming in the famous Sydney Harbour, seriously injuring her leg, authorities and media announced on Tuesday.
The attack occurred Monday evening off a pontoon in Elizabeth Bay, an area less than two kilometers from the iconic Opera House, police said.
She was “seriously injured in her right leg,” New South Wales police said in a statement.
Immediately, people rushed to help this 29-year-old woman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, citing a resident who, from home, heard a cry for help.
“It was surreal”
“She was trying to get out of the water using the ladder and behind her was her leg, which was completely split open and full of blood,” Michael Porter testified.
“It was surreal.
» A veterinarian living nearby applied a tourniquet to him, according to the newspaper.
The victim was hospitalized in intensive care at St Vincent Hospital, a hospital spokesperson said, adding that she is in a stable condition.
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This is the first shark attack in Sydney Harbor since 2009. That year, an Australian navy diver was attacked by a bull shark on the arm and leg in Woolloomooloo Bay. .
In February 2022, 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.