A teenage boy is fighting for his life after being attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour.
At around 4:20 p.m. local time on Sunday, Jan. 18, emergency services responded to reports of a boy “bitten by a shark” along Hermitage Foreshore Walk near Shark Beach in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, the New South Wales (NSW) Police said in a news release.
“The boy, believed to be aged about 13, was rescued from the water off Shark Beach by officers from Marine Area Command and Eastern Suburbs Police within minutes of the call being made to 000 [Australia’s national emergency number],” NSW Police said.
The boy suffered “serious leg injuries” in the attack. He was given first aid by Water Police officers before being transported to Rose Bay wharf, where NSW Ambulance paramedics continued treatment, police said.
He was taken to the Children’s Hospital at Randwick, where he remains in critical condition. He has not been publicly identified.
The injuries were “consistent with what is believed to have been a large shark,” NSW Police said. According to News.com.au, the teen was reportedly attacked while jumping off rocks at the end of the beach.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries is helping to identify the species of shark involved, per the ABC. Police have advised swimmers to avoid entering the waters near where the attack took place.
The incident follows another shark attack in New South Wales in November 2025, when a woman in her 20s was killed and a man was seriously injured. The couple from Switzerland were reportedly taking a morning swim at Kylies Beach campground when the attack occurred, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian reported.
The Department of Primary Industries told The Sydney Morning Herald and the BBC that the shark involved in that case was likely a bull shark measuring about 10 feet long.
