Sydney, Feb 17 (UNA): Several beaches in Sydney, including the popular Bondi and Bronte beaches, were closed Thursday after a swimmer was killed in a shark attack, in the first such fatality on the city’s beaches in nearly 60 years.
Reuters reports that drum lines, which are used to bait sharks, have been set up near the site of the attack while drones have been deployed while officials search whether the shark is still in the area.
A video posted online showed a shark attacking a person on Wednesday afternoon off Little Bay Beach, about 20 kilometers south of Australia’s largest city and near the entrance to Botany Bay. Police have not yet revealed the identity of the swimmer.
“This was a complete shock to our community,” Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker, which includes Little Bay, told Reuters. “Our shoreline is our backyard and it is absolutely horrific to have a tragic death under these horrific conditions.”
The attack comes days before the Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim Event, an annual charity event usually attended by thousands of swimmers at the nearby beach. Organizers said they were monitoring the situation and if the event was postponed it would be held on March 6.
A spokesman for the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries said shark biologists believe that a white shark at least 3 meters long was most likely responsible for the attack. The data showed this was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963.
Authorities ordered people to stay out of the water on a hot summer day as temperatures hovered close to 30°C (86°F).
“A few crazy surfers are still going out and taking risks but most of us are paying attention and staying out of the water until the sharks are gone. To be quite honest about driving,” Karen Romalis, a local resident, told Reuters.
MI