In brief
A man tragically died following a suspected shark attack at Long Reef Beach in Sydney. Emergency services responded to the scene, but the individual could not be saved. The incident has resulted in temporary beach closures while investigations continue to determine the shark species involved.
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 reported that emergency services pulled the man out of the morning surf at Long Reef Beach, but he 'died at the scene.'
According to the police, 'two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for expert examination.'
The incident, occurring on Saturday, has led to multiple beach closures in the popular Northern Beaches area.
The state police said emergency services responded after receiving reports shortly after 10:00am local time (00:00 GMT) about a man with critical injuries.
The victim's identity is yet to be confirmed, and local police officers are collaborating with experts to determine the species of shark involved.
This marks a significant incident following the last deadly shark attack in the Sydney area in 2022 when a British diving instructor, Simon Nellist, was attacked by a great white shark. Prior to that, the area had not seen a fatal attack since 1963.
Australia reports about 20 shark attacks each year, predominantly in New South Wales and Western Australia. Historically, fatalities from shark bites are rare, with the country's mortality rate from shark attacks being 0.9, indicating less than one death per year over the past century.
