In brief
In a shocking incident, a man died on Saturday morning at Long Reef Beach, Sydney, after being bitten by a suspected large shark. Emergency services arrived shortly after receiving reports that the man had suffered critical injuries. Despite efforts to save him, he tragically died at the scene. Police have stated that two parts of a surfboard have been recovered for examination while work is underway to determine the species of shark involved in the attack. This marks the second fatal shark incident in the Sydney area in recent years.
A man has died on a Sydney beach after being bitten by a suspected 'large shark', Australia's New South Wales police have said.
In a statement, the police said emergency services pulled the man out of the morning surf onto the shore at Long Reef Beach—but he 'died at the scene'.
'Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for expert examination,' the statement read.
Saturday's incident has resulted in a string of closures in the popular area known as the Northern Beaches.
The state police said emergency services acted after receiving reports shortly after 10:00am local time on Saturday (00:00 GMT) that 'a man had suffered critical injuries'.
The victim's identity was yet to be confirmed.
Local police officers and experts would work together to 'determine the species of shark involved'.
The last deadly shark attack in the Sydney area occurred in 2022, when Simon Nellist— a British diving instructor—was mauled by a great white shark.
Prior to that, there had not been a fatal attack since 1963.
Australia typically records about 20 shark attacks each year, with most in New South Wales and Western Australia.
Historically, dying from a shark bite is uncommon. In over a century of records, Australia's shark attack mortality rate is 0.9—less than one person per year.
