Woman is bitten on the hip and back by a shark during a morning swim – as 30km of shoreline is closed in hunt for the beast
- Woman had been swimming with a friend at Merimbula, NSW on Saturday at 7am
- She suffered wounds to her hip, back and chest after being bitten by a shark
- There were eight fatal shark attacks in Australia in 2020 including swimmers
A woman has suffered horrific injuries to her hips, back and buttocks after being bitten by a shark during a morning swim.
She had been swimming at Merimbula, on the New South Wales south coast, with a friend at 7am on Saturday when she was attacked.
The woman, believed to be in her 60s, was swimming off the main beach, which has now been closed.
Authorities are scouring 30km of coastline, closing all nearby beaches on what would have been a packed 33C day, to search for the shark.
Woman rushed to hospital after being bitten by a SHARK during a swim at a popular beach – as experts close 30km of shoreline in hunt for the beast (pictured, the Merimbula sandbar)
Emergency services treated the woman at the scene after she sustained lacerations to her hip and thigh.
She was then rushed to hospital and is in a stable condition.
Surf Life Saving NSW confirmed the incident, writing on Twitter: ‘Beaches from Wallagoot Lake down to Pambula are closed for 24 hours after a woman in her 60s was bitten on the hip and thigh by a shark while swimming at Main Beach Merimbula.’
Earlier this week, terrifying footage showed hundreds of unsuspecting swimmers paddling over sharks named Norman and Newman at Bondi Beach.
Aerial footage uploaded to YouTube channel Bondi Nation on Wednesday morning revealed the incredible scene in the waters at the iconic Sydney hotspot.
In the video, swimmers could be seen free-styling virtually next to the carnivorous beasts.
Some remained oblivious as they carelessly waded through the ocean, but others stopped in their tracks when they realised they were potentially moments from death.
‘Surely someone’s got to see him,’ a male voiceover said, as two beachgoers moved harrowingly close to the shark he dubbed ‘Norman’.
He’s going to go straight under you, mate.’
While the paddlers did not appear to have noticed at first, they stopped in the water after clearing the flesh-eating fish – bewildered by the vicious sight.
As more Sydneysiders free-styled towards an enormous school of salmon, the shark called Newman could be seen lurking in the middle.
One viewer said the sharks did not strike because they were feasting on a large school of salmon (pictured)
Some people swum through the school, completely unaware the predator was drifting in the middle.
Despite the potentially dangerous situation, no one was attacked.
Viewers took to the comments section to express their shock, and possible reasons as to why the sharks didn’t strike.
‘That’s amazing! But if I was one of those swimmers… I’d absolutely sh*t myself if I turned around and saw one of those sharks,’ one user wrote.
‘Of course the sharks didn’t attack look how much food was surrounding them,’ another suggested.