A surfer has died after being attacked by a large shark off Long Reef Beach in northern Sydney, marking the city’s first fatal encounter in more than three years.
Police said the man, who has not yet been publicly identified, was surfing with friends around 10 a.m. on Saturday when the shark struck roughly 100 meters from shore. Fellow surfers dragged him back to the beach, but despite their efforts, he could not be saved.
“He’d suffered catastrophic injuries,” Police Superintendent John Duncan of Sydney’s Northern Beaches unit told reporters.
Two broken sections of the victim’s surfboard were later recovered for examination. Authorities have not confirmed the species of shark involved.
Beaches in the area were immediately closed, and surf lifesavers ordered swimmers out of the water. One witness recalled seeing a red flag waved from shore as people scrambled back. “Four or five surfers pulled him out of the water and it looked like a significant part of his lower half had been attacked,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
The tragedy is Sydney’s first fatal shark attack since February 2022, when a swimmer was killed in the city’s first deadly incident in nearly six decades. Nationwide, three other fatal shark attacks have been recorded in 2025, including a surfer mauled in shallow waters off Western Australia in March, according to Taronga Zoo data.
Australia has documented more than 1,280 shark incidents since the late 18th century, with over 250 resulting in death. Saturday’s attack has once again raised fears along Sydney’s beaches, where thousands gather each summer.
