After 4 shark attacks in Australia in 3 days, beachgoers urged to

A surfer suffered minor injuries after being bitten by a shark on Tuesday in the fourth attack off the coast of Australia’s most populous state in three days. The series of attacks has prompted beach closures and warnings that beachgoers should avoid open water and go to a pool instead.

The shark attacked the man’s surfboard at Point Plomer, 470 kilometers north of the New South Wales state capital, about 9am, police said in a statement.

The man was lucky to survive with minor cuts, Kempsey-Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club captain Matt Worrall said.

“The board seemed to take the brunt of the impact,” Worrall told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “It made its way to shore, where it was assisted by locals.”

Bystanders took the 39-year-old man to a hospital and later discharged him.

In previous attacks, a A man and a child suffered critical leg injuries. and another boy’s surfboard was bitten by sharks at locations around Sydney on Sunday and Monday.

Beaches along the New South Wales north coast and north of Sydney were closed on Tuesday and local authorities said beaches north of Sydney would remain closed to swimmers and surfers for 48 hours. Lines of electronic drums have been deployed off the coast of Sydney, alerting authorities when a large shark has taken the bait.

Authorities warned that recent rains have left the water on the area’s beaches murky, increasing the risk of bull shark attacks. Bull sharks are responsible for the majority of attacks in Sydney.

“If anyone is thinking about surfing anywhere on the northern beaches this morning, think again. We have such poor water quality that it really encourages bull shark activity,” Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said.

“If you are thinking about swimming, just go to a local pool because at this time we are warning you that the beaches are not safe,” Peace added.

Police say the boy’s friends saved his life

On Sunday, a A 12-year-old boy was attacked after jumping from a 20-foot ledge known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach inside Sydney Harbour. Police have credited the boy’s friends with saving his life by jumping off the cliff during the attack and dragging him back to shore.

“Those actions by those young people are brave given the circumstances and are very confronting injuries for those children,” the superintendent said. said Joseph McNulty.

Media reported that the boy lost both legs in the attack.

Around midday on Monday, an 11-year-old boy was on a surfboard who was attacked by a shark at Dee Why Beach, an ocean beach north of Manly. The shark bit off a piece of board, but the boy was unharmed.

A surfer in his 20s was bitten on the leg by a shark off North Steyne Beach on the Pacific Ocean coast in the northern suburb of Manly at 6.20pm on Monday, police said. Bystanders pulled him from the water before an ambulance took him to a hospital in critical condition.

All three Sydney beaches have some form of shark protection netting. It was not immediately clear where the attacks occurred in relation to that network.

Pearce said the scene of the latest attack was isolated and had no shark nets.

Dee Why Beach is close to the beach where 57 years surfer Mercury Psillakis He was killed by a suspected great white shark last September.

In November, a A 25-year-old Swiss tourist died and her partner was seriously injured trying to save her while they were swimming in a national park north of Sydney.

There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents in Australia since 1791, of which more than 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators’ encounters with humans. The International Shark Attack File, a database of global shark attacks managed by the University of Florida, noted that a “disproportionate” number of people Died from shark bites in Australia in 2023 compared to other countries in the world.

Two Americans were killed by sharks last month. Less than two weeks ago, 56 years Minnesota woman died After a shark attack in the US Virgin Islands.

Earlier this month, authorities in California confirmed that Erica News, 55, died from a shark attack after disappearing in Monterey Bay in late December. The coroner determined that News died from “slash and blunt force injuries and water immersion due to a shark attack.”