Woman bitten in Sydney Harbour shark attack named

A hero vet was one of the first on the scene after a woman was mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbour. One detail about her life-saving actions will stun you.

A hero vet has been lauded as a “saviour” by witnesses of a gruesome shark attack in Sydney Harbour, which left 29-year-old Lauren O’Neill’s leg ”trailing behind her”.

Ms O’Neill was having a evening swim near a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay around 7.45pm on Monday when she was bitten on the leg by a suspected bull shark, screaming out to neighbours to help her.

Elizabeth Bay resident Michael Porter was one of the neighbours that rushed in to help and said Ms O’Neill was lucky to survive the ordeal.

In a stroke of luck, local vet Fiona Crago had just purchased a set of bandages that very day and used them to perform a tourniquet.

“The fact she had the bandages, it’s just such a fluke. So lucky. I’m not sure she would have survived without Fiona,” he told news.com.au.

“There was just so much blood loss. There was so much blood in the water that fish were all going off and jumping around in the area. [Fiona] was just incredible.”

Porter had just gotten home from work and had sat down on the couch when he heard the woman’s cries for help.

Lauren O’Neill, 29, was swimming near a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney Harbour when she was mauled by a bull shark

A hero vet was one of the first on the scene. Witnesses said the young swimmer “would not have survived” without her actions. Picture: Instagram

Hero vet Fiona Crago was praised for her actions. Picture: Bundanoon Veterinary Hospital

“The water was just red. She had just managed to prop herself up on the pool and her leg was just limping, sort of trailing behind her,” he said.

“I’m still in shock really, I couldn’t even imagine Lauren is feeling after everything is happened.”

Ms O’Neill suffered “serious injuries” and may lose her right leg as a result of the attack. She was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital and is now in a stable condition.

Ms Crago’s wife Georgia also praised the quick thinking of the vet.

“It was pretty hectic actually,” she said.

“My wife basically bandaged her up, stopped the bleeding. If she got bitten out there, she wouldn’t have survived.”

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Lauren O’Neill. Picture: LinkedIn

Paramedics working on Ms O’Neill before rushing her to hospital, where she remains in a stable condition. Picture: TNV.

Marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck told news.com.au it was “highly likely” the species involved in the incident was a bull shark.

Chlebeck also advised against swimming in Sydney Harbour at dawn or dusk.

“Bull sharks know they can come into Sydney Harbour and score an opportunistic feed,” he said.

“If they can’t see or the water is cloudy, these animals will bite just to determine what something is and whether it’s prey. Unfortunately, Sydney Harbour after dusk is simply not a safe place to swim.”

She suffered serious injuries to her right leg. Picture: TNV.

Locals who witnessed the incident posted a video of the aftermath on social media.

Ms O’Neill can be seen on a stretcher being transported from the jetty to an ambulance.

“Oh my god, you can see her blood,” one witness is heard saying.

City of Sydney Councillor Linda Scott said she was “extremely concerned” to hear about the attack.

“Please, stay out of the harbour until further notice,” she said on social media.

“Thank you to the bystanders who stood in to bravely help, and to St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney for their care for the victim.”

A vet helped to save the woman. Picture: TNV.

NSW Police said officers attached to Kings Cross Police Area Command assisted the paramedics at the scene.

“Police have been told she was swimming off the wharf at the time. Marine Area Command are patrolling the area as a precaution,” a spokesman said.

In 2022, Ms O’Neill joined in a campaign to introduce storage options for canoes and kayaks at Rushcutters Bay and Beare Park.

According to her LinkedIn, she works for the state government’s climate department as a project officer.

The attack occurred at the popular suburb Elizabeth Bay. Picture: TNV.

The last fatal shark attack in Sydney was British expat Simon Nellist in 2022.

Nellist, a 35-year-old diving instructor, was killed by a shark while swimming at Little Bay near Malabar in February 2022.

Nellist’s death was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney in nearly 60 years.

In 1963, actress Marcia Hathaway was attacked while wading in Sugarloaf Bay near Middle Harbour.

One of the most famous attacks in Sydney Harbour occurred in 2010 when navy diver Paul de Gelder was attacked by a three-metre bull shark during a routine anti-terrorism training exercise off Garden Island in 2010.

He survived, but his hand was severed in the near-fatal mauling and doctors were later forced to amputate his right leg above the knee.

- With NCA NewsWire