Rare Sydney Harbour shark attack seriously injures Australian woman during evening swim
- The woman, identified by local media as Lauren O’Neill, was swimming off a wharf less than 2km from Sydney Opera House on Monday evening
- An eyewitness who saw struggle out of the water said she was ‘mauled extremely badly’. It was the first shark attack in the harbour for 15 years
A shark mauled a woman swimmer in the first attack in Sydney Harbour in 15 years, officials said on Tuesday, sending her to hospital with a “serious” leg injury.
The predator struck on Monday evening as the woman swam off a wharf at Elizabeth Bay, less than 2km (1.2 miles) from Sydney Opera House, police said.
The woman suffered a “serious injury to her right leg”, New South Wales police said in a statement.
It was the first shark attack in Sydney Harbour since February 2009, when an Australian navy diver fought off a bull shark that bit him in the arm and leg in Woolloomooloo Bay.
Neighbours rushed to help the Elizabeth Bay victim, identified by The Sydney Morning Herald as 29-year-old Lauren O’Neill, a keen kayaker.
“I got home from work and sat down on the couch. I heard a soft yell for help just outside the window,” nearby resident Michael Porter told reporters.
Outside, he saw the woman trying to climb a ladder out of the harbour’s waters.
