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Authorities say an Australian woman suffered a “serious injury” to her right leg after being attacked by a suspected bull shark in Sydney Harbour.
The victim, identified in Australian media reports as 29-year-old Lauren O'Neill, was bitten while swimming in the eastern Sydney suburb of Elizabeth Bay on Monday evening. Her neighbors reportedly called emergency services and came to her aid.
“I looked outside and Lauren somehow pulled herself up from the side of the harbor and [was] try to get there [safety]“A neighbor, Michael Porter, told Nine News and described hearing screams in the area. “Her leg was dragging behind her and the water behind her was all red with blood.”
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Another neighbor, veterinarian Fiona Crago, applied a tourniquet to O'Neill's wounds, the station also reported.
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The Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor are seen in Sydney, Australia in April 2020. (James D Morgan/Getty Images)
“She was seriously injured in her right leg and lost a lot of blood. I just focused on what I had to do… which was to stem the blood flow and bandage the leg,” Crago told Nine News.
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O'Neill lives in the area and witnesses say she was swimming near moored boats but outside a private, netted dock near her apartment block, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
New South Wales Police said in a statement that the victim suffered a “serious injury” to his right leg, Portal reports. According to the Associated Press, authorities believe she was attacked by a bull shark and has since been taken to a hospital in stable condition.
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A bull shark is spotted near Fiji. Authorities believe the Australian woman was attacked by a bull shark on Monday. (Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Shark attacks in Sydney Harbor are rare, but the area is known to be an important habitat for bull sharks and their young, the news agency said.
In 2009, an Australian Navy diver was mauled by a bull shark during a training exercise in the harbor. The attack tore off his arm and part of his leg.
A female bull shark is spotted near Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. (Luis Javier Sandoval/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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In February 2022, a swimmer died on a Sydney beach after being attacked by a 15-foot great white shark, witnesses said. It was Sydney's first fatal shark attack since 1963.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.