Kayaker Nearly Loses Leg After Shark Bite in Sydney Harbor: ‘It Was Like the Worst Horror Movie’

A bull shark bit a 29-year-old Australian woman in Sydney Harbor on Monday, NCA NewsWire, BBC and Sky News Australia report.

After Lauren O’Neill’s right leg was bitten and severely injured, surgeons worked throughout the evening and avoided amputation.

The avid kayaker and swimmer was attacked around 7:45 p.m. after swimming in Elizabeth Bay, Sky News reports. O’Neill started screaming in the water, and local civilians rushed to her side to help her out of the water and provided her with first aid techniques.

dr. Fiona Cargo, a witness who works as a veterinarian, is credited with possibly saving O’Neill’s life after she placed a tourniquet on her leg — a device that applies pressure to the limb to stop blood flow.

“I think Fiona saved her life. She is a complete hero,” witness Michael Porter told Sky News. “We were just sitting with her … I stayed on the phone with the ambulance following their instructions.”

St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

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“He was completely exposed from the knees down. It was like the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen,” Porter said. “She was quite lucid and responsive though… just saying ‘Thank you for calling 911, I’m grateful’, things like that.”

“I’m not sure if she even knew how bad her leg was and how much blood she was losing,” Porter told Sky News. “The water around her was still red where the water had just come out.”

An ambulance then took her to St Vincent’s Hospital. She underwent extensive surgery and should be recovering in the hospital’s intensive care unit for the next few days.

A great white dog swims off the coast of Monterey Bay in California.

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O’Neill shared a statement through St. Vincent’s Health Australia with NCA NewsWire and thanked those who helped and her “beautiful family, friends and colleagues”.

“She wishes to thank her heroic and very kind neighbors for the critical assistance they provided her,” the statement read. “Lauren is also extremely grateful [New South Wales] To the NSW Ambulance Paramedics and Kings Cross Police for their swift and caring action at the scene.”

“She would also like to thank the public for their support and kindness, and while she focuses on her recovery, she asks that her privacy and that of her family be respected,” the statement read.

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Although the harbor is known to be a shark habitat, shark attacks are rare in the surrounding area.

dr. Amy Smoothey, a shark ecologist from the NSW Department of Primary Industries, told Sky News that this type of shark is usually more active at dawn or dusk. “Avoid murky waters during periods of low light,” Smoothey said.

“Our advice is to avoid shallow areas near steep ascents, as well as after heavy rain or when the water is murky,” added the shark ecologist. us and we won’t be able to see them.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education