A surfer has become the latest victim of a shark attack in Australia – the fourth off Sydney in just three days.
Officials in New South Wales said the shark attacked the man’s surfboard while out at sea in Point Plomer, north of Sydney, at around 9am on Tuesday (10pm on Monday in the UK).
Kempsey-Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club captain Matt Worrall said that the 39-year-old man was left with minor cuts but was lucky to survive.
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“The board seemed to take most of the impact,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC). “He made his own way into shore where he was assisted by locals.”
Three earlier shark attacks off Sydney on Sunday and Monday left two people, including a 12-year-old boy, in critical conditions.
Beaches on New South Wales’ northern coast and northern Sydney were closed on Tuesday.
Authorities warned that recent heavy rainfall had left water off the beaches murky. It created ideal conditions for bull sharks, a species that thrives in brackish water.
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The 12-year-old boy had been jumping off rocks with friends late on Sunday afternoon, when he was bitten.
Police said he was pulled from the water by friends and emergency services with severe injuries to both legs.
“He’s in for the fight of his life now, and the actions of emergency services yesterday gave him that chance,” New South Wales Police Superintendent Joseph McNulty told reporters.
The two other attacks were reported by local media on Monday. One saw a surfer critically injured off North Steyne Beach in Manly.
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“If you’re thinking about going for a swim, think of going to a local pool because at this stage, we’re advising that beaches are unsafe,” Steven Pearce, the chief executive of Surf Life Saving New South Wales (NSW), told reporters on Tuesday.
“We have such poor water quality that’s really conducive to some bull shark activity.”
