Woman attacked by shark while swimming in Sydney Harbour

A man who was one of the first to help keen kayaker Lauren O’Neill, 29, after she was bitten by a shark, has described the bloody aftermath of the attack.

Shark attack victim Lauren O’Neill is a keen kayaker. Picture: Facebook

A neighbour has detailed the heroic efforts by residents of an affluent Sydney suburb who came together to save a woman who was mauled by a shark just metres from her home.

Lauren O’Neill was swimming near a private wharf in Elizabeth Bay at dusk on Monday evening when she was severely attacked on the leg by a shark.

Neighbour Michael Porter was one of the first people on the scene and heard Ms O’Neill’s “soft yell” before rushing to help.

Describing the scene to NCA NewsWire, 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.

Shark victim Lauren O'Neill, 29.

Michael Porter. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

“Her leg was limp.”

It’s understood the 29-year-old had been swimming around boats close to the shore when she was attacked.

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

He said a neighbour, who also happens to be a vet, had bought new tourniquets and bandages that day and rushed to help.

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

Footage shows the chaos on the private wharf as locals scamble to help Ms O’Neill and remain by her side before paramedics get to her.

Another video shows a helicopter in the area, while paramedics work to treat the 29-year-old on the wharf.

Ms O’Neill, who suffered severe injuries, is now in a stable condition, but will undergo surgery today.

A media spokesman for St Vincent’s Hospital confirmed her status on Tuesday morning, after she was rushed to hospital in a serious condition following the attack while she was swimming in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney’s east.

Friends and neighbours described Ms O’Neill as an eager kayaker, and had recently bought a unit in the area.

Neighbours held Ms O’Neill’s hand and talked to her while waiting for the ambulance, with Mr Porter explaining she was “very lucid” during the waiting process.

He said she was “so brave” while waiting for the ambulance.

A NSW Police spokesperson said emergency services were called to a private wharf near Billyard Avenue in Elizabeth Bay at about 7.50pm on Monday evening where they found Ms O’Neill with serious injuries to her right leg.

“She had wraps and tourniquets and just got straight into emergency mode, and we were all just sort of there together as a team.”

Michael said Ms O’Neill was in a “complete state of shock” following the incident, however she appeared to be “very much lucid” while talking to bystanders.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the woman had “serious blood loss to one of her legs”.

The NSW Police spokesperson said police from Kings Cross station assisted paramedics at the scene.

“Marine officers from the Marine Area Command are patrolling as a precaution,” she said.

“Police have been told she was swimming near the wharf at the time.”

It’s understood the woman managed to swim back to the wharf after being bitten.

The woman is taken to hospital. Picture: On Scene Bondi

Bull shark most likely responsible

Shark expert and marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck said the shark was likely to have been a bull shark.

He also said swimming at night was “not a great idea”.

“We need to make it that education is more readily available, that swimming at night in the Harbour is just not a great idea,” Mr Chlebeck told the Today show.

Mr Chlebeck explained that abattoirs used to pour remains into the Harbour decades ago and sharks learnt the harbour was a great place to feed, which led to an influx in the area.

Bull sharks were used to hunting and feeding in estuaries such as Sydney Harbour, Mr Chlebeck said.

Talking to Sunrise, Mr Chlebeck said swimming at night in the harbour was “not advisable”.

“It’s an area of high shark activity,” he said.

“We know that the Harbour has this shark activity. People need to be aware of the risk. During the day, in full sun, is when sharks are a little less active.

“Their sensors are heightened in the evening and early mornings. Those are the times I would avoid swimming in the Harbour.”

Paramedics take the woman to hospital. Picture: On Scene Bondi

Vet first on the scene

One witness, Georgia, told the Daily Telegraph she was first on the scene to treat the woman alongside her wife, who was a veterinarian.

Lauren O'Neill is treated at the scene. Picture: On Scene Bondi

“We heard a shout … she swam up to a boat, but on the way back she got bitten by a bull shark,” she told the Daily Telegraph.

“We ran out, my wife’s a vet, she basically bandaged it up … bone’s broken, it’s pretty hectic actually.

“We got some bandages, we kept her warm, my wife bandaged her up to stop the bleeding.”

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

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

The last fatal attack in Sydney Harbour was in 1963, when actor Marcia Hathaway was attacked while wading in Sugarloaf Bay near Middle Harbour.

One of the most famous attacks in the Harbour, occurred in 2010 when navy diver Paul de Gelder was attacked by a 3m 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