A 13-year-old boy is in a critical condition after a shark attack in Sydney Harbour, with police and paramedics saying the actions of his friends and first responders helped save his life.
Police said the boy, believed to be 13, was jumping off rocks near Shark Beach at Vaucluse about 4.20pm on Sunday when he was bitten on the legs almost as soon as he hit the water.
NSW Police Superintendent Joseph McNulty said “one of his mates jumped in and helped retrieve him from the water, and that’s some heroic actions just in itself”, while two other friends helped pull him onto the rocks.
A police boat arrived within minutes and a senior constable applied tourniquets to both of the boy’s legs before officers rushed him to Rose Bay wharf, where NSW Ambulance crews were waiting.
“The boy had lost his pulse. There was a large blood loss and the double tourniquet stemmed that flow of blood loss yesterday and has contributed to saving his life,” McNulty said, per 9News, adding: “He’s in for the fight of his life now, and the actions of emergency services yesterday gave him that chance.”
NSW Ambulance Inspector Giles Buchanan said that by the time the boy reached shore “it was a resuscitation situation”.
“It required CPR, the medical team would have intubated the boy to take over his breathing for him… It was touch and go the entire time, and still he’s in a very dangerous position,” he said, confirming the teen underwent surgery overnight at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick.
Police believe the attacker was likely a bull shark, based on the injuries to the boy’s legs, although the Department of Primary Industries is still working to confirm the species.
McNulty said recent heavy rain had created “brackish” conditions in the harbour, telling reporters: “The combination of the brackish water, the fresh water, the actions of the splashing, may have made that perfect storm environment for that shark attack.”
The incident happened just outside a netted area near a popular jump rock at Nielsen Park, with the beach now closed and authorities urging people to avoid swimming in the harbour for the time being.
“Those young men are brave under those circumstances… but I suppose that’s mateship,” McNulty said of the boy’s friends, as the teenager remains in intensive care.
Lead image: 9News
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