In brief
A man has died at Long Reef Beach in Sydney following a suspected shark attack. Emergency responders could not revive him after he was pulled from the water. This incident has prompted temporary beach closures, while officials investigate the species of shark involved. Australia sees about 20 shark attacks yearly, but fatalities remain rare.
A man has died on a Sydney beach after being bitten by a suspected 'large shark', Australia's New South Wales police have said.
Emergency services pulled the man out of the morning surf onto the shore at Long Reef Beach, but he 'died at the scene'.
'Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for expert examination,' the police stated.
Saturday's incident has led to a series of closures in the popular Northern Beaches area.
The state police responded to reports of 'a man who had suffered critical injuries' shortly after 10:00 AM local time on Saturday (00:00 GMT).
Authorities are yet to confirm the victim's identity. Local police along with experts are investigating to 'determine the species of shark involved'.
The last deadly shark attack in Sydney occurred in 2022, when British diving instructor Simon Nellist was mauled by a great white shark.
Prior to that incident, there had not been a fatal attack since 1963.
Australia typically records around 20 shark attacks annually, mainly in New South Wales and Western Australia. Despite these numbers, fatal shark bites are exceedingly rare, with a mortality rate of 0.9 over a century of recorded incidents, less than one person per year.
