A boy has been attacked by a shark in Sydney harbour and is in a critical condition after suffering serious injuries to both legs.
The boy, believed to be aged about 13, was pulled from the water near Shark beach at Neilsen Park, in the eastern suburb of Vaucluse, at about 4.20pm Sunday afternoon.
He was initially treated by officers from a New South Wales water police vessel.
“Water Police officers attached two medical tourniquets and [he] was immediately given first aid on board the police vessel … for serious leg injuries,” police said in a statement. Paramedics then continued first aid when the boy was brought to the nearby Rose Bay wharf.
“The injuries are consistent with what is believed to have been a large shark.”
Intensive care and aeromedical units, including the CareFlight helicopters, also responded, NSW Ambulance said.
The boy was transported to the Sydney Children’s hospital in Randwick for treatment of his critical injuries, an ambulance spokesperson said.
Shark beach was closed and police advised swimmers to avoid swimming in the water.
The shark net at Nielsen Park was damaged during massive swells in April 2025. Repairs were completed in early December.
It is understood the boy was swimming outside the net enclosure at the time of the attack.
Sunday’s event follows on from a fatal shark attack on Sydney’s northern beaches in September when a 57-year-old man was killed at Long Reef beach near Dee Why.
In November, a 25-year-old Swiss tourist was killed by a bull shark at Kylies beach in the Crowdy Bay national park in New South Wales.
Last March, a swimmer in her 50s was bitten by a suspected bull shark at Gunyah beach in Bundeena in Sydney’s south.
In January 2024, a woman in her 20s was bitten by a bull shark while swimming at Elizabeth Bay in Sydney harbour.
