A 12-year-old boy is in critical condition after being bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour, officials said on Monday.
The boy was jumping off rocks with friends near what is known as Shark Beach in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse when he was attacked on Sunday afternoon by what officials believe was a bull shark, leaving him with serious injuries to his legs.
“He is now in the fight of his life and the actions taken by emergency services yesterday have given him that opportunity,” Joseph McNulty, commander of NSW Police’s Marine Area Command, told reporters.
The attack comes days after heavy rains filled the Australian city’s famous saltwater harbor with fresh water favored by bull sharks.
“We think the combination of brackish water, fresh water and spray action may have been an ideal storm environment for a shark attack yesterday,” McNulty said.
Police arrived at a “horrific scene” and began life-saving measures, McNulty said.
“The boy lost his pulse, there was significant blood loss, and the double tourniquet stopped the flow of lost blood,” he said.
Before police arrived, one of the boy’s friends entered the water to get him out, while another helped them out of the water, McNulty said.
“The actions of these young men are brave under the circumstances – and very severe injuries for these boys to see – but I think that’s what friendship is,” he said.
According to Australian shark attack fileIn the past decade, the country has seen an average of 20 shark incidents per year resulting in injuries to people, with an average of 2.8 deaths per year. She says that a much larger number of people die from drowning and road accidents.