According to Australian officials, a swimmer died after a shark attack at a beach in suburban Sydney. Thus, marking the city’s first fatal shark attack in nearly 60 years.
New South Wales police say emergency services arrived in the area of Buchan Point, Malabar, about 4:35 p.m. local time. They came after a complaint of a shark attacking a swimmer in the ocean was made on Wednesday. Officers discovered human remains in the water.
Shark bites increased in 2021, following a decline earlier in the year. “Unfortunately, this person had suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the attack and there was nothing paramedics could do when we arrived on the scene,” NSW Ambulance inspector Lucky Phrachanh said in a statement
Police in NSW did not provide any other detail. But they said they would create a report for the coroner. They would also collaborate with the state Department of Primary Industries to look into the circumstances surrounding the swimmer’s death.
“The shark won’t stop”
An alleged eyewitness informed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he was fishing off nearby rocks. He observed a man in a wetsuit swimming across the bay being dragged underwater by a huge shark in a multiple-second attack.
“He was yelling at first, and then when he went down, there were so many splashes,” he said. “The shark won’t stop.”
In the Randwick City neighborhood, Buchan Point is situated between Little Bay Beach and Malabar Beach.
“As part of standard operating procedures following a fatal attack,” Randwick City Council announced that all of the area’s beaches will be closed for 24 hours. Lifeguards will be on the lookout for more shark sightings on the beaches.
“The coast is our community’s backyard. Little Bay is normally such a calm, beautiful place enjoyed by families,” Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said. “To lose someone to a shark attack like this is chilling. We are all in shock.”
The council stated that this is the first fatal shark attack “in recent memory” in Randwick City. Thereby, citing a nonfatal shark attack south of the region in February 2018.
First shark attack in six decades
According to the ABC, this was the first deadly shark attack on a Sydney beach since 1963. Marcia Hathaway, 32 at the time, died in Sugarloaf Bay after a shark bit her twice on the leg. She was standing in murky waters only 30 inches deep.
The International Shark Attack File is a global database kept at the Florida Museum of Natural History. As per it, witnesses to Wednesday’s attack stated a massive white shark “breached beneath the victim.”
“White sharks often hunt by swimming up directly beneath prey, using shadows to select targets,” it explains. “Unfortunately, due to poor vision and murky water, it is likely difficult for the sharks to distinguish humans and traditional prey species such as seals.”
According to the trackers, there were 76 unprovoked shark bites in Australian seas in the last five years. Four of the eleven deadly attacks occurred in other parts of New South Wales.
Heart disease, drowning, lightning, and fireworks, as per ISAF, are all more likely to kill you than a shark attack.
Most sharks are harmless to humans. Authorities in New South Wales warn there are actions swimmers may take to reduce their encounters. These include swimming between the red and yellow flags at a monitored location; avoiding swimming and surfing at dawn, dusk, and night; also avoiding river mouths, muddy waters, and baitfish schools.