A man has died after being mauled by a large shark on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Emergency services were called to Long Reef Beach just after 10am on Saturday to find the man critically injured.
Police said he was pulled from the water along with large sections of a surfboard.
“Officers attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command have closed the beach and will liaise with experts from the Department of Primary Industries to determine the species of shark involved,” police said in a statement.
“Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for expert examination.”
Emergency services were called to Long Reef Beach just after 10am on Saturday. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
Beaches between Manly and Narrabeen have been closed until further notice.
Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) said the man was part of a group surfing to the north of the lifeguard tower toward Long Reef, away from the patrolled area.
“Our deepest condolences go to the family of the man involved in this terrible tragedy,” Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steve Pearce said in a statement.
“Volunteers will continue to assist Council and authorities to protect the public from further danger in any way we can.”
Drones are on the scene scanning the beach for further shark activity.
Beaches between Manly and Narrabeen have been closed. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
The Northern Beaches Council has paid tribute to the family in a statement, and thanked all the first responders at the scene for their “swift and professional response”, including members of the public who assisted.
“There has been a tragic loss of life on one of our beaches, and our deepest condolences today are with the man’s family and friends,” it said in a statement.
“Beach goers are advised to check the website for ongoing closures in the coming days.”
Attack ‘to send shock waves through the community’
A witness told the ABC they were heading to Shelly Beach at Manly when an alert sounded.
“A megaphone announcement from a boat was warning ‘there has been a shark attack, please get out of the water for your own safety’,” he said.
Local Bill Sukala was leaving his house to go for a surf when he got a notification about the attack.
“The next thing the helicopters were setting up and all hell was breaking loose,” he said.
Mr Sukala, who has surfed all over the world in some of the “sharkiest” places, reflected on the possibility that he could have been in harm’s way had he headed out earlier.
“It’s a risk that every surfer accepts,” he said.
“We don’t like it, we know that statistically it’s an unlikely probability, but yeah, we take it in stride and hope it’s not us.”
Local Bill Sukala says he was about to head out for a surf when he received a message about the shark attack. (ABC News: Alexander Lewis)
Mr Sukala, who started surfing when he was young, said the local community would be spooked for some time.
“I think it’s going to send shock waves through the community, I think everyone is going to be nervous for a while,” he said.
“At some point we’re going to paddle back out — I know people that don’t surf would look at that and go, ‘That’s absolutely crazy’, but that’s the risk that we accept.”
SLSNSW has cancelled all water activities at nearby beaches this weekend.
NSW Police are due to provide an update on the incident later today.