12-year-old critically injured in suspected shark attack at Nielsen Park

A 12-year-old boy is in critical condition after being attacked by a large shark while jumping off a rock ledge near Nielsen Park in Sydney’s east on Sunday at about 4.20pm, New South Wales police said. Police said the attack was possibly by a bull shark. Friends of the boy rushed to assist, with at least one jumping into the water to pull him to safety.

A nearby police speedboat responded within minutes; an officer applied a double tourniquet to both of the boy’s legs to stop the bleeding while officers administered CPR as he was taken by boat to Rose Bay, where ambulance crews transported him to hospital. Supt Joe McNulty praised the friends and emergency responders: “The actions of his mates who’ve gone into the water and pulled him out have been nothing but brave,” he said, calling the response “a textbook recovery to give this boy a fighting chance for survival.” Insp Giles Buchanan described the scene as a “resuscitation situation”, saying the boy was unconscious when emergency crews arrived, had to be intubated and that the tourniquet was “definitely a life-saving intervention”.

He added: “I think it was touch-and-go the entire time. It still is.” The Department of Primary Industries had not yet confirmed the species involved, though police said it was a “large” animal.

Key Topics

World, Nielsen Park, Sydney Harbour, Shark Attack, Bull Shark, Nsw Police