A man has died on a Sydney beach after being bitten by a suspected large shark, Australia's New South Wales police have said.
In a statement, the police reported that emergency services swiftly pulled the man from the water at Long Reef Beach, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The police noted that two sections of a surfboard were recovered for expert examination, hinting at the circumstances of the attack.
Following the incident on Saturday morning, authorities have closed sections of the popular Northern Beaches area.
The emergency services responded shortly after 10:00 am local time with reports of a man sustaining critical injuries. The identity of the victim is yet to be confirmed.
Local police and experts are collaborating to determine the specific species of the shark involved in this tragedy.
This is not the first fatal shark attack in Sydney; the last occurred in 2022 when Simon Nellist, a British diving instructor, was attacked by a great white shark. Before that incident, there hadn't been a deadly attack in the area since 1963.
On average, Australia records about 20 shark attacks annually, predominantly in New South Wales and Western Australia, though fatalities from shark bites are exceedingly rare, with a historical mortality rate of 0.9 per year.
