Heroic Bystander Commended Following Fatal Shark Attack in NSW
A woman has died and a man is fighting for his life after a shark attack on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales on Thursday morning. Emergency services responded to a beach at Crowdy Bay near the Kylies Beach campground around 6:30 a.m., NSW police said in a statement.
Witnesses provided initial assistance to the pair before paramedics arrived. the woman, in her 20s, died at the scene. A man, also in his 20s, sustained severe injuries, but a bystander’s quick actions – applying a makeshift tourniquet – stemmed the bleeding, allowing paramedics to airlift him to John Hunter hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Superintendent Joshua Smyth from NSW Ambulance praised the bystander’s courage. “I need to have a shout out to the bystander on the beach who put a makeshift tourniquet on the male’s leg and perhaps 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 have closed the beach. In response to the incident,the NSW government has announced the temporary installation of five SMART drumlines off Kylies Beach,part of ongoing efforts to improve safety measures in the area.
Chief Inspector Timothy Bayly from NSW Police confirmed to reporters on Thursday morning that formal identification of the woman has not yet occurred. He stated the pair were known to each other and were swimming at the time of the attack, but declined to disclose the nature of their relationship or the reason for being at the beach.
“All I can say at this stage is that they were known to each other. They were going for a swim,” Bayly said. He added that he was “not aware of” any shark sightings in the area since the attack.
– With additional reporting by the Australian Associated press
