Before the assault, on a hot summer day, the woman who was attacked by a bull shark at a private wharf in Sydney Harbour reported she was swimming near the coast.
After Lauren O’Neill was attacked on Monday night at 7:45 p.m., emergency personnel promptly sent a chopper to Elizabeth Bay’s Billyard Avenue.
As she usually did most evenings, O’Neill announced in a statement from her hospital bed that she was taking a dip.
Because of the prompt action of the emergency services, bystanders, and St. Vincent’s Hospital staff, she claimed that a full recovery was “likely”.
O’Neill’s family released a statement saying, “She wishes to thank her heroic and very kind neighbours for the critical assistance they provided her.”
“Lauren also expresses her sincere gratitude to Kings Cross police and the emergency personnel from New South Wales for their prompt and considerate responses at the scene.
She also expresses gratitude to everyone of the medical staff at St. Vincent’s Hospital, especially the nightly working specialists in surgery.
“A probable full recovery is evidence of their exceptional abilities.
Lauren would like to express her gratitude to her lovely family, friends, and coworkers for their unwavering support and care.
She also wants to express her gratitude to the people for their overwhelming generosity and support.
“As she turns to focusing on her recovery, she asks that her privacy and her family’s privacy be respected.”
The premier of NSW, Chris Minns, stated that there was no programme in place by the government to keep sharks out of Sydney Harbour because it was impossible to ensure that a swimming area would be “devoid of ocean life.”
“That’s why we rely on surf life saving, that’s why we rely on drone tech, apps and technology,” he stated.
“They do provide some form of solution to this… it just can’t be perfect.”
According to Minns, there has been a rise in the frequency of shark sightings in Sydney Harbour, the Hawkesbury, and the Georges River estuaries, but attacks have not increased.
O’Neill’s bite wounds were analysed yesterday, and the results indicated that a bull shark was the culprit.This time of year, the species are typically found in warm seas.
A tourniquet was used by O’Neill’s neighbour, veterinarian Fiona Crago, to stop the bleeding following the incident on Monday night.
“She was severely mauled on her right leg and losing a lot of blood,” Crago stated.
“I just focused on what I had to do… which was stem the blood flow and bandaged the leg,” said Crago.
O’Neill, an avid kayaker, is thought to have recently bought a property nearby.
The 29-year-old is employed by the NSW government in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Water as a public worker.
