Australia’s beaches have been hit by multiple shark attacks during the height of summer, with four incidents occurring within two days and prompting the closure of approximately 40 beaches along New South Wales’ coast.

All attacks were attributed to bull sharks. Bull sharks typically inhabit warmer coastal waters but move closer to Sydney’s popular beaches during summer months when heavy rainfall flushes food from estuaries into the ocean. This recent surge in activity coincided with record-breaking rainfall over Sydney in the past 24 hours—the heaviest in at least a decade—creating conditions ideal for lethal encounters.

Steve Pearce, CEO of NSW Surf Life Saving, stated that while shark sightings and minor interactions are common, “to have four incidents where all the victims have been actually attacked by sharks is really uncommon.”

The most severe incident involved 12-year-old Nico Antic. On January 18, Antic was cliff-jumping with friends at Jump Rock near Shark Beach in Vaucluse when he entered water outside the protection of anti-shark net enclosures. A bull shark bit him once on both legs, causing catastrophic injuries and massive blood loss.

One of Antic’s friends immediately jumped into the water to pull him toward rocks, while another helped lift him onto a platform. Emergency crews applied tourniquets to control bleeding before transporting him to a nearby ferry wharf. En route to Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick, Antic received an emergency blood transfusion as initial efforts failed to stop the blood loss. Within hours, he underwent emergency surgery and was placed into a medically induced coma.