The 12-year-old boy was brutally attacked by a shark and left with ‘serious injuries’ to his legs. He was airlifted to a hospital where his condition is described as critical
A boy was airlifted to hospital after a shark attack in Sydney Harbour, Australia. The emergency services rushed to the scene at Shark Beach near Nielsen Park, Vaucluse, following reports of a 12-year-old boy being attacked at around 4.30pm on Thursday.
The popular bathing location offers both netted and unprotected sections of sea. The boy was reportedly jumping off rocks at one end of the beach when he was savagely attacked.
Images from the scene showed a a big response from police and paramedics at the Rose Bay West Boat Ramp. NSW Ambulance first responders treated the boy for serious leg injuries at the scene.
NSW Police said in a statement: “The beach has been closed and swimmers are advised to avoid swimming in the water at this time. There is no further information available at this time.”
The boy was airlifted to Children’s Hospital, Randwick by a Careflight helicopter. His condition is described as critical.
NSW Police added: “Swimmers are advised to avoid entering nearby waters at this time. The injuries are consistent with what is believed to have been a large shark.”
Earlier this week, a glam surfer showed her stitched-up leg after she was bitten by a supposedly harmless nurse shark while she was freediving in the sea. Lawyer Tayane Dalazen, 36, was snorkelling with friends in the Fernando de Noronha archipelago in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco when she was mauled by the underwater beast.
Horror footage shared on her Instagram page showed the shark’s seemingly lazy approach to Tayane before it suddenly bit down on her right leg.
In the brief clip, Tayane can be seen swimming upside-down and gracefully moving through the underwater paradise, with the cameraman capturing the slow-moving shark seemingly milling around in the background.
The shark continues towards the tourist’s direction, looking as if it was going to glide by the swimmer, before snapping its mouth towards her. In a flash, the shark sinks its teeth into her leg as the camera shakes.
Nurse sharks are not designed to take down large seafaring prey like other big fish, marine mammals or turtles. While they can grow up to two-metres long, they are dotted with smaller serrated teeth that allow them to crush their shelled prey, such as crustaceans.
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