The woman attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour and her family have released a statement sharing details of the attack, which left her with critical injuries. Lauren O’Neill, 29, was set upon by the ocean predator in waters off Elizabeth Bay just before 8pm on Monday.
“Lauren was taking a short dip close to the shore when she was bitten by a shark,” St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney spokesperson David Faktor said on behalf of O’Neill and her family at a press conference on Wednesday. “She wishes to thank her heroic and very kind neighbours for the critical assistance they provided her.”
O’Neill was swimming at a private wharf at Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay when the shark bit her right leg. Neighbours heard her yelling and one told Sunrise he found her “propped up on the external ladder of the harbour pool coming out of the water and behind her was dark red blood”.
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Faktor said Lauren “is also immensely grateful to the NSW ambulance paramedics and Kings Cross for their swift and caring actions at the scene. She would also like to thank all of the clinicians at St Vincent’s hospital, particularly the specialist surgical teams who worked through the night. Her likely full recovery is testament to their extraordinary skills.
“Lauren would like to thank her beautiful family, friends and colleagues, for their unflinching care and support. Lauren is also like to thank the public, for their outpouring support and kindness.”
Shark bites in Sydney Harbour are extremely rare, but the area is an important habitat for adult and sub-adult bull sharks. Bond University Associate Professor of Environmental Science and shark expert Dr Daryl McPhee said the species could be found in the harbour at this time of year.
“Bull sharks are one of the three large species mostly responsible for serious bites and fatalities, the other two being the white shark and the tiger shark,” McPhee said. “Bull sharks are found seasonally in Sydney Harbour during the warmer months of the year.”
The sharks are generally found in water less than 5m deep near sharp drop-offs, McPhee added. “While the risk of a shark bite is extremely low, I advise people to stay out of Sydney Harbour waters until further notice by the government,” he said.