A woman has died following a shark attack on the Mid North Coast in NSW on Thursday morning, following reports that a shark had bitten a woman and a man.
Emergency services were called to a beach at Crowdy Bay near the Kylies Beach campground around 6.30am, NSW Police said in a statement.
“Witnesses assisted the pair prior to the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics; however, the woman died at the scene,” police said.
A woman in her 20s was dead when paramedics attended shortly after but a makeshift tourniquet had stemmed the man’s bleeding enough for them to airlift him to hospital
A man in his 20s is currently battling for his life after sustaining severe injuries. He was swiftly airlifted to John Hunter Hospital, where he remains in critical condition, as confirmed by NSW Police.
Superintendent Joshua Smyth from NSW Ambulance said the courage of bystanders who tried to help the pair was “amazing”.
“I need to have a shout out to the bystander on the beach who put a makeshift tourniquet on the male’s leg and potentially saved his life,” he said.
“The courage shown by this [person] is amazing.
“To put yourself out there is very heroic, and it did give us time to get that male patient.”
Authorities confirmed the beach has been closed.
In response to this incident, the NSW government has announced the temporary installation of five SMART drumlines off Kylies Beach. This move is part of their ongoing efforts to enhance safety measures in the area.
Formal identification yet to occur
Chief inspector Timothy Bayly from NSW Police told reporters on Thursday morning that “formal identification [of the woman] has not yet occurred”.
Bayly would not disclose the nature of the man and woman’s relationship or why they were at the beach.
“All I can say at this stage is that they were known to each other. They were going for a swim,” he said.
He was “not aware of” any shark sightings in the area since the attack earlier in the morning.
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
