SYDNEY – A 30-year-old swimmer sustained severe injuries during a shark encounter at a Sydney beach Saturday morning, marking another incident in Australia’s recent wave of shark attacks, officials reported.
Authorities responded to Coogee Beach on Sydney’s eastern shore after receiving reports that the woman had been bitten, according to a police statement.
“The woman was pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid,” police said, noting that the victim sustained severe injuries to her arm and leg.
Medical personnel transported her via helicopter to a medical facility, authorities confirmed.
Officials shut down Coogee Beach along with two adjacent beaches Saturday in response to the incident.
Seven days prior, a fatal shark encounter claimed the life of a fisherman off Western Australia’s coastline in another deadly attack.
In the previous month, a 39-year-old fisherman died following an attack near Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. Ten days before that incident, a 38-year-old person was killed in a fatal mauling near an island close to Perth in Western Australia.
Authorities closed numerous beaches spanning Australia’s eastern coastline, including Sydney locations, this past January following four shark encounters within a 48-hour period. Those attacks occurred after heavy rainfall created cloudy water conditions that draw sharks while limiting their ability to see clearly.
Australia’s eastern and southeastern coastal regions experience the majority of shark encounters, with the nation recording approximately 20 such incidents annually, data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows.
