Australian boy dies after shark attack in Sydney Harbour
Nico Antic, 12, was attacked on Sunday and taken to hospital with severe injuries to both legs.
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SYDNEY: An Australian boy had died in hospital after being bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour, his family said on Saturday (Jan 24) after a series of shark attacks along the country's east coast.
Nico Antic, 12, was attacked on Sunday as he and friends were jumping off rocks in Vaucluse, around 9km from Sydney's central business district. He was pulled from the water by friends and taken to hospital with severe injuries to both legs.
"We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed away," the family said in a statement. "Nico was a happy, friendly, and sporty young boy with the most kind and generous spirit. He was always full of life, and that’s how we'll remember him."
Dozens of beaches, including in Sydney, were closed this week after four shark attacks in two days, as heavy rains left the waters murky and more likely to attract the animals.
Australia averages 20 shark attacks a year, fewer than three of them fatal, according to data from conservation groups. Those numbers are dwarfed by drownings on the country's beaches.
It was Sydney's third recent shark-related death.
In September, a great white shark mauled surfer Mercury Psillakis to death at a popular northern Sydney ocean beach.
Two months later, a bull shark killed a woman swimming off a remote beach north of Sydney.
Australian scientists believe increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures are swaying sharks' migratory patterns, which may be contributing to a rise in attacks.
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