Sydney Rocked by Three Shark Attacks in Just Over 24 Hours

Australia has been left shocked by three shark attacks in Sydney in a little over 24 hours, two of which have left their victims in critical condition. While Australians are used to the occasional shark attack along the country’s vast coastline, it is highly unusual for there to be three attacks in a little over a day and even more unusual for them to occur in the waters of a city like Sydney. One of the victims, a 12-year-old boy, is “in for the fight of his life”, police say, while a man – believed to be in his 20s – is also in hospital. Experts say the spate of attacks was “unprecedented” and are investigating whether it was a coincidence or part of a worrying trend. Heavy rainfall in Sydney in recent days may have contributed to the attacks, flushing rubbish and other detritus into the harbour and ocean and attracting bull sharks, an aggressive species which favours murky or brackish water. First incident: Sydney Harbour The first attack occurred on Sunday afternoon inside Sydney Harbour when a 12-year-old boy was swimming with friends outside a netted area in the harbourside suburb of Vaucluse. The boy sustained very serious injuries to his legs in the sudden attack. He had jumped from a rock ledge near Shark Beach at Nielsen Park, in the city’s east, when he was attacked at about 4.20pm local time (5.20am GMT). While the species of shark involved in the attack has not been formally identified, police believe it was a bull shark based on the bite marks. One of the boy’s friends, of a similar age, dived into the water to help, while two others pulled him onto a nearby rock platform, where he lost consciousness. Officers on a water police boat arrived within minutes. A New South Wales Police officer applied tourniquets to the boy’s legs to stem heavy bleeding, while colleagues performed CPR. He was rushed to Rose Bay ferry wharf, where paramedics were waiting. “It was touch and go the entire time,” said Insp Giles Buchanan of the NSW ambulance service. By the time the boy reached the wharf, paramedics had resuscitated him. He received several blood transfusions before being taken to Sydney Children’s Hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma in intensive care and underwent surgery. Supt Joseph McNulty said: “The actions of his mates who have gone into the water to pull him out have been nothing but brave, (it was) a gallant recovery from his mates.” “He’s in for the fight of his life now, and the actions of emergency services yesterday gave him that chance,” Supt McNulty said. “It was a horrendous scene at the time when police attended. We believe it was something like a bull shark that attacked the lower limbs of that boy yesterday.” Authorities warned swimmers and surfers to exercise caution after recent heavy rainfall made coastal waters murky, increasing the likelihood of sharks approaching shore. “The boys were jumping off a six-metre rock that’s popular in the Vaucluse area into that brackish water. We believe the combination of the brackish water, the fresh water, the actions of the splashing may have made that perfect storm environment for that shark attack yesterday,” said Supt McNulty. Shark experts from the state Department of Primary Industries say they think the attack was carried out by a bull shark. “They believe a bull shark was likely responsible based on the nature of the injuries and the environmental conditions at the site,” a statement said. “Our thoughts are with the boy, his family and the other young people who witnessed the incident.” Second incident: Dee Why On Monday, an 11-year-old boy was surfing at Dee Why Beach in northern Sydney just before lunchtime when a shark lunged at his board, biting it several times and knocking him into the water. Images showed a large chunk missing from the side of the surfboard. Third incident: Manly A third shark attack on Monday evening, local time, left a man fighting for his life at Manly. The swimmer, believed to be in his 20s, was pulled from the water shortly after 6.20pm local time with a severe leg injury, NSW Ambulance said. Surf cameras captured the chaotic rescue near the shoreline. Another surfer dragged the injured man towards the sand before paramedics performed CPR as a helicopter hovered overhead and lifeguards cleared the water. A local surfer named Harley said he saw people giving CPR to the victim. “I think trying to keep him alive, it’s not looking great,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “I think he was out in the surf and I think it could have been a bull shark but not too sure.” The fact that this was the third attack in just over 24 hours was “pretty scary, because we go out here most days”. Steve Pearce, the chief executive of Surf Life Saving NSW, said lifesavers were just trying to absorb the news of the second attack when they heard about the “unprecedented” third. He said: “Straight away we started texting each other saying: ‘Is this correct or not?’ I can’t even remember three shark incidents occurring within 24 hours. But I have to say the water conditions at the moment are really conducive to shark activity.” Speaking about the third attack, at Manly Beach in Sydney, Mr Pearce said that emergency personnel found a “traumatic and horrendous scene”. The victim had “really severe injuries to the lower limbs. My understanding is that it was quite disturbing...horrendous damage to one of the limbs.” Kellie Sloane, a member of the New South Wales parliament who represents the area, said it was “too early to determine whether these are tragic coincidences or part of a more concerning trend” and called for more drone surveillance of Sydney’s beaches. Another local surfer, Luca, said he was “feeling pretty rattled” by the attacks. It is high summer in Australia and warmer water tends to attract sharks, particularly bull sharks, said expert David Baxter. “The water temperature is optimum now so there are migratory species like bull sharks cruising up and down our beaches,” he said. “The fact is that conditions are just right for a species like the bull shark. We’ve got dirty water, it was overcast, there had been rain, run-off from the creeks and the drains stimulate the curiosity of the sharks,” he told ABC Radio. “They don’t have hands, so they feel with their mouth. Because their teeth are so sharp, they may sever a major artery. After all the big storms we have had, and the run-off, I personally wouldn’t go in the water. We have had attacks in the harbour and I am predicting there will be more. There just seems to be an increase in shark activity.” In November 2025, Livia Mühlheim, a 25-year-old Swiss woman, was mauled to death by a three-metre bull shark at a beach north of Sydney. Her partner, Lukas Schindler, 26, was seriously injured. In September 2025, Mercury Psillakis, a 57-year-old surfer, was killed in a suspected great white shark attack off Sydney’s Long Reef Beach, adjacent to Dee Why, where the 11-year-old surfer was attacked on Monday.