Overview
- Authorities shut all northern Sydney beaches until further notice and increased coastal patrols following the latest attack.
- A 13-year-old was bitten while swimming near Shark Beach in Nielsen Park and remains hospitalized with serious leg injuries.
- A 20-year-old surfer sustained severe leg wounds at a north Sydney beach and is in critical condition, according to New South Wales Police.
- Hours earlier, a boy's surfboard was heavily damaged in a separate encounter, and another attack was reported near Port Macquarie.
- NSW lifeguard chief Steven Pearce urged people to choose pools as a safer option, noting that nets and protected zones have limits and early reports indicate the 13-year-old was outside the protected area.