A woman died and a man was seriously injured in a shark attack Thursday in Crowdy Bay on Australia’s east coast, police said.
New South Wales Police said emergency services were called to the remote beach, about 280 kilometers (174 miles) north of Sydney, in the early morning after reports that a shark had attacked two swimmers.
“They knew each other, and they were going swimming and the shark attacked,” New South Wales Police Inspector Timothy Bailey told reporters.
Bystanders helped save the victim
Witnesses helped both victims, believed to be in their 20s, before paramedics arrived and managed to save the man’s life.
“The courage of some of the bystanders in this situation is amazing – to get themselves out of there is very heroic,” state ambulance inspector Joshua Smith told the AFP news agency.
The man was airlifted to hospital in critical condition.
However, the woman died at the scene.
The beach and surrounding areas have been closed as officials work with experts to identify the shark species.
shark attack in australia
Australia recorded three fatal shark attacks in the first half of 2025, according to the national shark-incident database.
Since 1791, there have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia, resulting in more than 250 deaths.
In September, a surfer was fatally injured off the coast of Sydney.
Edited by Carl Sexton