SYDNEY:Several Sydney beaches, including the iconic Bondi and Bronte, were shut down on Thursday after a swimmer was killed in a shark attack, the first such fatality at the city’s beaches in nearly 60 years. Drum lines, which are used to bait sharks, have been set up near the attack site while drones have been deployed as officials search for if the shark is still in the area.
A video shared online showed a shark attacking a person on Wednesday afternoon off Little Bay beach, about 20 km south of Australia’s largest city and near the entrance to Botany Bay. Police have not yet disclosed the identity of the swimmer. A spokesperson for the New South Wales department of primary industries said its shark biologists believe that a white shark at least 9. 8 feet in length was responsible for the attack.
It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963, data showed. The fatal attack comes just days before Australia reopens to international tourists on February 21. The nation’s sandy beaches, including Bondi, are often featured in advertising campaigns to lure tourists from the other side of the world.