A woman swimming in Australia’s Sydney Harbour got mauled in a shark attack, leaving her in the hospital with a “serious” leg injury, according to officials and media Monday.
While swimming off an Elizabeth Bay wharf Sunday evening, the woman was attacked by the apex predator. The exact location of the mauling was around 1.2 miles (two kilometers) from the legendary Sydney Opera House, according to police, 9New reported.
New South Wales police said the woman suffered a “serious injury to her right leg,” according to the outlet.
The shark attack is the first to happen in Sydney Harbour since 2009. Then, a navy diver was bitten in both the arm and leg by a bull shark in Woolloomooloo Bay, being forced to fight off the beast.
🔴 AUSTRALIA :#VIDEO SHARK ATTACK AT A PRIVATE WHARF IN SYDNEY HARBOUR
A 29-yo woman was bitten by a shark during an evening swim.
She suffered significant injuries to her leg and blood loss. #Shark #Attack #Ataque #Tiburón pic.twitter.com/EdJPx7sowR— LoveWorld World News (@LoveWorld_Peopl) January 29, 2024
Neighbors rushed to assist the victim, who has been identified as 29-year-old Lauren O’Neill, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The outlet quoted a resident who heard her calling for help with a “soft yell.”
“She was trying to climb in and behind her was her leg, which was completely open and full of dark red blood behind her,” said resident Michael Porter, per the Herald. “It was surreal. We have always been worried and known about sharks in the harbour… it’s only now that it feels very real.” (RELATED: Iconic: Newborn Great White Shark Caught On Camera For The First Time Ever)
“She swam out to the boat and on her way back she got bitten by, I think it was, a bull shark,” another witness told OnScene Bondi, a local news outlet.