The woman mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbor has suffered two vicious blows as internet trolls call her out and a sensitive photo of her mauled leg circulates online.
Lauren O’Neill, 29, lost gallons of blood – and almost her entire leg – after the bull shark tore open her flesh below the knee and bit down to the bone on Monday evening.
Her limb was saved by a team of expert surgeons at St Vincent’s Hospital, in Sydney’s CBD, who operated on her several times from Monday evening to Tuesday morning. She is now expected to make a full recovery.
Residents providing first aid in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay said Ms O’Neill had been swimming outside a “harbour pool with nets” and was “swimming around the boats”.
The incident has raised questions about why Ms O’Neill, a marine biologist, decided to go for what she described as “a short swim” at dusk – in low light and visibility, one of the factors that increase the chance of a shark attack .
‘My first reaction is: why is there someone in the harbor at night?’ said marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck on Sunrise on Tuesday.
‘It is not advisable. It is an area with a lot of shark activity. “We need to recognize where the best places to swim are and where they might not be,” he said.”
Many internet trolls had little sympathy for Ms O’Neill’s fate.
“I must have had a death wish,” one person wrote online.
“The first mistake was going into the water at that time of day,” said a second.
A third said: ‘If you grow up near an ocean, you understand that the most dangerous time to swim is dusk and dawn.’
“How ridiculous to go swimming at night,” a fourth agreed.
Lauren O’Neill, 29, (pictured) was accused of having a ‘death wish’ by cruel internet trolls
Mrs O’Neill is pictured on a stretcher moments after she was attacked by a shark on Monday
Lauren O’Neill (pictured) was mauled by a bull shark in a shocking attack in Sydney Harbour
Others came to Ms O’Neill’s aid, saying she had endured a horrific ordeal.
“My god people – she is an unfortunate person with life threatening injuries – does it make you feel better to put her down,” one person wrote.
‘How does her family feel? Some of the comments here are downright disgusting and made by people who are regular people. To grow up!’
“I agree all these self righteous people make me sick,” said a second.
On Thursday evening, a leaked photo revealed the significant wound to Ms O’Neill’s lower leg.
The image, which Daily Mail Australia has declined to publish, shows a medic holding her foot, with Ms O’Neill’s bandages apparently removed and her painted red toenails visible.
The Sint-Vincentius Hospital has started an investigation into how the image became public.
Ms O’Neill was attacked near a jetty in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney Harbor (map shown)
The 29-year-old spoke out about the attack for the first time on Tuesday afternoon, saying she was taking a short dip near the coast when the animal bit her.
“(Lauren) would like to thank her heroic and very kind neighbors for the vital assistance they provided her,” said a statement issued on her behalf on Wednesday.
A vet and other neighbors have been praised for their quick thinking after the attack, including applying tourniquets to Ms O’Neill’s leg to stop the bleeding.
She is expected to make a full recovery, which she attributes to the “extraordinary skills” of medical staff.
Mrs O’Neill thanked her family, friends and colleagues for their unwavering care and support.
‘She would also like to thank the public for their support and kindness, and as she focuses on her recovery, she asks that her privacy and that of her families be respected.’
The avid kayaker and swimmer remains at St. Vincent’s Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery after the attack.
The incident was the first serious attack in the port since 2009, when navy diver Paul de Gelder lost his right leg and hand to a bull shark.
