Overview
- Leah Stewart was bitten while swimming at Coogee Beach on June 13 and was rescued by bystanders and an off‑duty lifeguard before being airlifted to St Vincent’s Hospital in critical condition.
- Doctors briefly reduced sedation on Tuesday to extubate Stewart so she could speak to family, during which she said “I love you” and asked about her daughter.
- She has undergone multiple surgeries over five days, including the amputation of an arm, remains in intensive care and is scheduled for further operations as a long recovery is expected.
- A public fundraiser has raised roughly A$480,000–A$492,000 and thousands of people joined a community swim‑out to support Stewart and her family.
- Authorities secured a temporary Civil Aviation Safety Authority exemption to fly shark‑spotting drones at Coogee, the NSW government allocated about A$87 million more for mitigation and the premier ruled out culling protected great whites while leaving options open for non‑protected species such as bull sharks.