Swimmer attacked by shark in Sydney Harbour
A woman bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour was likely saved by a local vet who used bandages bought earlier that day to stop the bleeding, witnesses have said.
The woman, named locally as Lauren O’Neill, was swimming off a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay on Monday evening when she was attacked.
Police in New South Wales state said the 29-year-old suffered a “serious injury” to her right leg during the attack, believed to have been carried out by a bull shark.
According to local media, she was helped by residents in the area, including Michael Porter and local vet Fiona Crago, who had just purchased a set of bandages, which she used to create a tourniquet to stem the bleeding.
The woman is believed to have been attacked by a bull shark. Pic: Khare Aoun via Storyful
“The fact she had the bandages, it’s just such a fluke,” Mr Porter told the Australian news website, news.com.au.
“So lucky. I’m not sure that she would have survived without Fiona. There was just so much blood loss.”
The incident happened about 20 metres from a jetty in Elizabeth Bay, an upmarket inner-city suburb to the east of the city’s central business district.
Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, Australia
While shark sightings along Sydney’s ocean-facing beaches are common, attacks in its iconic harbour are rare.
“Shark bites are really rare [here]… the last incident that occurred in Sydney Harbour was in 2009,” Amy Smoothey, senior shark scientist at the New South Wales department of primary industries, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Based on the bite patterns and images provided, Ms O’Neill was likely attacked by a bull shark, she said.
Known for their aggressive, territorial nature, bull sharks are large and usually found in warm, shallow waters, but can survive in fresh waters and are known to swim up rivers.
Bull sharks, great whites, and tiger sharks are responsible for most of the recorded unprovoked attacks on humans.
Sydney Harbour is known to be an important habitat for bull sharks and their young.
In 2009, an Australian navy clearance diver was mauled by a bull shark during a training exercise in the harbour. The shark tore off his arm and part of his leg.
In February 2022, a swimmer at a Sydney beach died after being attacked by what witnesses described as a large great white shark.
It was Sydney’s first fatal shark attack since 1963.
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Despite its 16,000 miles of coastline and famous beach culture, there are more unprovoked shark attacks reported in the US than in Australia.
There were 455 recorded attacks in the US compared with 161 in Australia between 2011 and 2020, according to data from AustraliaWide First Aid
However, according to the data, Australia has considerably more fatal attacks, with 22 compared to seven over the same period.
Israel pounded the outskirts of Gaza City overnight, as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Families streamed out of the city as the explosions hit.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40.
“No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Mahmoud Abedrabo mourns over the body of his son Hamada in Gaza City on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation.
“We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money,” she said.
Mourners pray next to the body of Palestinian boy Hamada Abedrabo on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Witnesses said that overnight they heard nonstop explosions in Zeitoun and Shejaia.
Tanks shelled houses and roads in Sabra, and buildings were blown up in Jabalia.
On Sunday, the IDF said its forces had returned to combat in Jabalia to strengthen its control of the area and dismantle militant tunnels.
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
This month, Israel approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City. The offensive isn’t expected to start for another few weeks.
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In the meantime, mediators in Egypt and Qatar are trying to resume ceasefire talks between the two sides.
On Friday, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas releases all its remaining hostages and ends the war on Israel’s terms.
Mourners transport the body of Ahmed Balata on 24 August. Pic: Reuters
Around half of Gaza’s two million residents currently live in the city and on Friday a global hunger monitor said that Gaza City and its surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread.
Israel said the monitor ignores steps Israel has taken since late July to increase aid supplies into and across Gaza.
Eight more people died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry on Saturday.
281 people, including 114 children, have now died of malnutrition and starvation since the war started, according to the ministry.
The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel, mainly civilians, and took 251 hostages.
Since then, Israel has killed at least 62,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and internally displaced nearly its entire population.
Two married couples have died after a British car veered off the road and crashed in Germany, according to police.
The fatal accident happened shortly after midnight on Saturday in the trees near a highway in the Kassel district, north of Hesse in central Germany.
The 32-year-old male driver, a 31-year-old female passenger, a 32-year-old female passenger, and a 30-year-old female passenger all died at the scene, despite the efforts of German emergency services.
Sky News understands UK officials have not been contacted for assistance.
At roughly 12.30am on Saturday, the car appears to have veered off the road and crashed into nearby trees around 30m from the road, according to the Kassel police department.
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
One of the victim’s phones automatically alerted the emergency services to the incident, who sent an ambulance to the scene.
Soon, fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles and emergency support vehicles were all dispatched.
When emergency workers arrived, the car was lying on its side, wedged between several trees.
It wasn’t until they removed the roof that they found all four passengers.
Pic: Feuerwehr Reinhardshagen
The accident happened on Highway L3229
The emergency workers who dealt with the victims were immediately supported by the specialist mental health workers at the fire station in Reinhardshagen.
“This high number of deaths is an extraordinary operation for our Reinhardshagen Volunteer Fire Department,” said a fire department spokesperson.
“For some of the emergency personnel, it is the first time they have been confronted with death in this way.
“Therefore, a great deal is being done to help us process these images. We will also discuss this among ourselves and within families, because not everyone can easily shake off what they have seen.”
An investigation into the accident is ongoing and is being conducted by the Hofgeismar police station.
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