A young woman mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbor is now in a stable condition in hospital and will undergo surgery this afternoon for injuries sustained as a result of the attack.
Emergency services rushed to a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay at 7.45pm on Monday to find the woman, aged in her 20s or early 30s, with a serious bite to her right leg and suffering from ‘major blood loss’.
A visiting vet had already applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the woman’s leg and may have saved her life, but there are fears she could lose her leg.
‘She had severe bleeding. Her injuries are serious,” a NSW Ambulance spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
A young woman (pictured on the stretcher) is mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbour
Emergency services rushed to Elizabeth Bay at 7.45pm on Monday to find the woman with a serious bite to her leg and ‘major blood loss’. A blood-stained boardwalk is depicted at the scene
The photo shows emergency workers carrying the woman on a stretcher
The vet and her wife Georgia were first on the scene to treat the swimmer and kept her alive until emergency services arrived.
Georgia said the couple heard a scream and the victim “swam to a boat, but on the way back she was bitten by a bull shark.”
“We ran out, my wife is a vet, she actually bandaged it… the bone is broken, it’s quite hectic actually,” she said.
“It looks like she’s okay, she’s in shock. Me, too.
“We got her bandaged up, we kept her warm and my wife actually bandaged her up to stop the bleeding.
‘If she had been bitten there (further), she would not have survived.’
A resident living nearby named Romain told the Sydney Morning Herald he saw the woman trying to pull herself out of the water.
“She was attacked about 20 yards from the jetty – there was blood all over the water and all over the jetty,” he said.
The photo shows emergency workers and an ambulance
In the photo, emergency workers carry the injured woman on a stretcher
Georgia (pictured) and her wife, who is a veterinarian, were the first on the scene
Elizabeth Bay resident Michael told the Today Show there was blood everywhere.
“Her leg was kind of dragging behind her … and the water behind her was all red with blood,” he said.
Michael said she swam outside a “harbor pool with nets” and “swam around the boats.”
He also praised the vet who came to her aid.
She was an absolute hero. And I think it saved her life,” he said.
“She had bandages and tourniquets and immediately went into emergency mode, and we were all there as a team.”
The woman was taken to Sint-Vincentius Hospital by ambulance after being treated by a doctor on the spot. She is now in stable condition.
A NSW Police spokesperson said the woman was swimming when she was bitten on the right leg and suffered serious lacerations.
“Police learned she was swimming off the dock at the time. The Marine Area Command is patrolling the area as a precaution,” the spokesperson said.
“(The NSW Department of) Primary Industries will be the authority to determine if the woman was bitten by a shark/what type of shark.”
Sydney City Councilor Linda Scott said she was “extremely concerned” when she heard about the attack.
“Please stay out of the port until further notice,” she said on social media.
‘Thank you to the bystanders who bravely helped, and to St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney for their care of the victim.’
In February 2022, British Simon Nellist was killed by a 4.5-metre great white shark at Little Bay in Sydney’s south-east.
He was Sydney’s first confirmed fatality in 60 years.
A tourniquet was applied to try to stop the bleeding from the woman’s leg
The woman was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital after treatment by a doctor and is now in a stable condition
