2LT International News

SYDNEY, Australia: The death of a surfer at a popular Sydney beach on the weekend marked the city’s first fatal shark attack in more than three and a half years, and prompted the closure of multiple beaches.

The incident occurred just after 10 a.m. on Saturday at Dee Why Beach, located on Sydney’s northern coastline in New South Wales. Police said the victim, 57-year old  Mercury “Merc” Psillakis, was surfing with friends about 100 meters from shore when the shark struck.

Fellow surfers, who had been urged by the  victim to band together to mitigate the risk of an attack, pulled him from the water and attempted to assist, but the man had suffered massive blood loss from the loss of his two legs. “He’d suffered catastrophic injuries,” said Superintendent John Duncan of Sydney’s Northern Beaches police unit at a televised press briefing. Despite immediate efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said Mr Psillakis was an experienced surfer, leaving behind a wife and young daughter. Police also confirmed that two broken sections of his surfboard were recovered and are being examined as part of the investigation.

The species of shark is believed to have been a Great White. As a precaution, the Northern Beaches Council closed several nearby beaches and deployed lifeguards on jet skis to monitor for shark activity.

This death is Sydney’s first shark-attack fatality since February 2022, when a swimmer was killed, the city’s first such case since 1963. Nationwide, Australia has recorded three other deadly shark attacks so far this year, according to data from the state-run Taronga Zoo. In one of those cases, a surfer was killed in March in shallow waters off a remote Western Australian beach.

Shark encounters are rare but often make headlines in Australia, a country renowned for its surfing culture and beach lifestyle. The latest incident has once again raised concerns about safety measures along some of the nation’s busiest stretches of coastline.

Adding to the drama is a trial currently underway in Sydney, where beaches are being stripped of shark nets, established to  to protect swimmers and surfers. Dee Why beach is not taking part in the trial and was netted, but the area where Saturday’s attack occurred fell outside the netted area.

Debate re-opend Saturday on the merit of the trial. “Given this terrible event, we believe the right thing to do is to wait for the investigation to come back about how this happened, what happened and the circumstances surrounding it,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said Sunday.

“I want to get the information in front of us, so we can make a decision.”