Dozens of beaches closed after four shark attacks near Sydney

Dozens of beaches in eastern Australia were closed on Tuesday after four shark attacks in a span of 48 hours, many of them off Sydney, a spree the head of a volunteer lifeguard group called "unprecedented." The incidents included a surfer knocked off his board near Point Plomer, about 200 miles north of Sydney, who was briefly hospitalized with minor injuries, local news media reported.

On Monday evening a 27-year-old surfer had his leg bitten off in waters off Manly and was taken to hospital with what police described as "life-changing injuries," while an 11-year-old boy escaped injury after a shark bit his surfboard. On Sunday a boy believed to be 12 or 13 had his legs bitten and was described by authorities as "fighting for his life." Local authorities said more than a dozen beaches in northern Sydney, including Manly and Palm Beach, would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and that several beaches near Point Plomer were closed for 24 hours.

Steve Pearce, chief executive of Surf Life Saving New South Wales, urged people to avoid swimming at northern Sydney beaches for the next 48 hours. Scientists say the Sydney attacks were most likely the work of bull sharks. Leonardo Guida of the Australian Marine Conservation Society said warmer-than-average ocean temperatures and runoff from heavy rainfall have brought prey into the water for sharks to feast on, and noted that bull sharks can swim in fresh and salt water.

Key Topics

World, Bull Sharks, Sydney, Manly, Point Plomer, Northern Beaches Council