Shark bite: Woman suffers deep wounds to leg at Sydney beach

A woman suffered deep wounds above her right knee when she was bitten by a shark at a popular beach south of Sydney on Friday afternoon. Swimmers rushed to her aid.

Bate Bay beaches are closed until further notice after a woman was bitten on the leg by a shark at Gunyah Beach, near Bundeena, about 1.30pm on Friday.

Beachgoers rushed into the water to pull out the screaming woman, who had deep wounds above her right knee after the attack about 1.30pm.

Emergency services rushed to the beach and she was treated at the scene by paramedics before being carried out to a nearby oval, then flown to St George Hospital by helicopter.

“Where she was was quite an isolated part of the beach, there was only pedestrian access through 50 stairs,” NSW Ambulance acting inspector Andrew Bibby said.

“But we loaded her onto one of our boards and carried her around about 800m to Bundeena wharf where we could load her into an ambulance.”

Brave locals brought the woman to safety after she was bitten above the right knee about 1.30pm. Picture Kevin McKay/Instagram

A police spokesperson said the woman was swimming about 15m from shore when she was attacked.

She was reported to be in a critical condition on Friday night.

Sutherland Shire Councils closed all Bate Bay beaches (Cronulla Beach, Elouera Beach, North Cronulla Beach, Wanda Beach, Greenhills Beach, Horderns Beach, Gunyah Beach and Silver Beach) until further notice.

The shark species is yet to be identified.

Kevin McKay, who was at the beach with family and friends visiting from Queensland, said he was enjoying a quiet day in the popular cove when he heard the woman scream and several people ran into the water to help her.

“It was all quiet and then boom,” he said.

“I am no expert but I guessed it was a bull shark because anything bigger you would worry the leg would be gone.”

Mr McKay said the woman had deep lacerations above her right knee, and her rescuers brought her to shore and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

In January last year Lauren O’Neill was bitten on the leg by a bull shark as she swam off a private wharf in Sydney Harbour.

The 29-year-old suffered blood loss with the lacerations down to the bone and was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital where she underwent surgery.

This summer there have been several shark attacks in Australia.

Charlize Zmuda, 17, was killed when she was bitten at Bribie Island’s Woorim Beach, suffering fatal injuries to her upper body on February 3.

Youth pastor Luke Walford died after being attacked in Queensland’s Keppel Bay Islands National Park in December.

Another man in Queensland was flown to hospital after being bitten by a shark at The Wrecks Walking Track on Moreton Island, a popular tourist destination north of Brisbane.

The 29-year old had abdominal injuries and lacerations to his leg.

Surfer Lance Appleby, 28, went missing after he was attacked by a shark on the Eyre Peninsula in January.

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