Hero neighbours and paramedics save Sydney shark attack victim

Paramedics and neighbours who battled to save a woman’s life after she was mauled by a shark metres from her home in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay have been praised for their heroism.

A ‘very lucid’ Lauren O’Neill is transported to hospital after being bitten by what is believed to have been a bull shark in Sydney Harbour. Picture: On Scene Bondi

Paramedics and neighbours who battled to save a woman’s life after she was mauled by a shark metres from her home in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay have been praised for their heroism.

Footage showed the aftermath of the incident, with dozens of ­locals and paramedics lining a private jetty on Sydney Harbour and attempting to save the life of ­Lauren O’Neill, 29. It later emerged blood was transported about 30km from Bankstown to the scene at Elizabeth Bay.

Ms O’Neill, a kayaker who ­recently moved into the area, was swimming off a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay on Monday evening when what is believed to be a bull shark bit her leg. She pulled herself to a nearby ladder before locals dragged her bleeding from the water. Her leg was severely injured and appeared to be broken.

Neighbours held the hand of a “very lucid” and calm Ms O’Neill, bandaged her wound, and talked to her while they waited for paramedics to arrive.

Elizabeth Bay shark attack victim Lauren O'Neill.

Those at the scene described Ms O’Neill as “brave”. Even in her state, she thanked them for helping her. Ms O’Neill, a microbiologist, was in a stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on Tuesday.

Elizabeth Bay resident ­Michael Porter was one of the first on the scene and heard the “soft yell” of a woman before rushing to help. He said there “was blood everywhere”.

“I saw Lauren climbing out of the harbour on the ladder and she was sort of pulling herself up quite weakly, she didn’t have much strength and there was a whole pool of red blood in the harbour,” Mr Porter said.

“Her leg was limp.”

Mr Porter stayed with Ms O’Neill as he called triple-0, and other neighbours came to her side with towels.

Another neighbour, a vet named Fiona Crago, dressed Ms O’Neill’s wounds. After hearing faint screams of a “shark attack” from her home, she ran fresh bandages down to the wharf.

“They were wrapping and piecing her leg back together … it was an absolutely horrific injury,” Mr Porter said.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said St Vincent’s staff “performed a miracle” on Ms O’Neill.

He said healthcare workers made an “extraordinary intervention”, which included transferring blood from Bankstown to the scene at Elizabeth Bay about 30km away.

“Now we have a person who is stable and will recover, but it will be a long and difficult road ahead, and our thoughts are with that person as they go through that ­recovery and rehabilitation phase,” she said.

The Department of Primary Industries believes she was ­attacked by a bull shark.

The incident followed warning from experts not to swim in the harbour and to particularly avoid the evenings.

“When you swim at dawn or dusk or at night, a shark relies on its sense of taste to determine what’s in the environment around him, so we would describe this as an exploratory bite – this shark is just trying to figure out what’s around,” marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck said.

Additional reporting: NCA NewsWire.