First deadly shark attack in Sydney since 2022 claims surfer’s life

A man has died on a Sydney beach after being bitten by a suspected "large shark," Australia’s New South Wales police have said.

In a statement, the police said the man had been pulled 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 statement read.

Saturday’s incident has resulted in a string of closures in the popular area known as the Northern Beaches.

The state police said the emergency services received reports shortly after 10:00 local time on Saturday (00:00 GMT) that "a man had suffered critical injuries."

At a news briefing later on Saturday, the police described the victim as an experienced surfer who had been in the water with his friends.

They said he had been surfing for only about 30 minutes when he was attacked some 100m (328ft) off the shore, losing "a number of limbs."

Rod McGibbon, a duty officer from Surf Life Saving, said the victim had been brought to the beach by other surfers.

He said he expected the beaches to remain closed for between 24 and 72 hours.

The victim’s name has not been publicly released.

Local police officers and experts were working together to "determine the species of shark involved," the police added.

The last deadly shark attack in the Sydney area was in 2022, when Simon Nellist - a British diving instructor - was mauled by a great white shark.

Prior to that, there had not been a fatal attack since 1963.

Australia typically records about 20 shark attacks each year, with most in New South Wales and Western Australia.

Historically, dying from a shark bite is uncommon. In over a century of records, Australia’s shark attack mortality rate is 0.9 - less than one person per year.