Surfer dies after shark bite at Sydney beach

A surfer attacked by a large shark at a Sydney beach has died of his injuries, police said on Saturday, the first such incident in more than 3-1/2 years, prompting the closure of several beaches.

The victim, yet to be identified, was attacked about 100 metres (328 feet) from shore while surfing with friends just after 10 am at Long Reef Beach, in the north of the capital of the Australian state of New South Wales, police said.

He was pulled from the water by other surfers, but had lost too much blood and died at the scene, police inspector Stuart Thomson said.

"He'd suffered catastropic injuries," Thomson, from Sydney's Northern Beaches unit, told a televised press conference.

Two sections of a surfboard were retrieved and taken for examination, police added.

It was not yet known what species of shark was responsible for the attack, which prompted Saturday's beach closures, authorities said.

The death is the first in a shark attack in Australia's most populous city since a swimmer killed off a beach in February 2022 became Sydney's first such fatality since 1963.

There have been three other fatal shark attacks in Australia in 2025, data from the state-run operator of Sydney's Taronga Zoo shows. In March, a surfer was killed by a shark in shallow water on a remote beach in Western Australia.