In brief
Emergency services reported a man suffered critical injuries from a suspected shark bite at Long Reef Beach. Despite swift action, he died at the scene. The police are investigating the incident, and expert examination is underway to determine the shark species involved. Prior to this, the last deadly shark attack in the area was in 2022.
A man has died on a Sydney beach after being bitten by a suspected large shark, Australia's New South Wales police have said.
In a statement, the police said emergency services pulled the man out of the morning surf onto the shore at Long Reef Beach - but he died at the scene.
Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for expert examination, the statement read.
Saturday's incident has resulted in a string of closures in the popular area known as the Northern Beaches.
The state police said the emergency services acted after receiving reports shortly after 10:00 am local time on Saturday (00:00 GMT) that a man had suffered critical injuries.
The victim's identity was yet to be confirmed.
Local police officers and experts would work together to determine the species of shark involved.
The last deadly shark attack in the Sydney area in 2022, when Simon Nellist - a British diving instructor - was mauled by a great white shark.
Prior to that, there had not been a fatal attack since 1963.
Australia typically records about 20 shark attacks each year, with most in New South Wales and Western Australia.
Historically, dying from a shark bite is uncommon. In over a century of records, Australia's shark attack mortality rate is 0.9 - less than one person per year.
