Shark kills man off Sydney beach

A shark

A suspected “large shark” mauled a man to death in waters off northern Sydney on Saturday, Australian police said, leading to a string of beach closures.

The man was pulled out of the morning surf onto shore at Long Reef Beach but died at the scene, New South Wales police said in a statement.

“A man has died on the Northern Beaches after being bitten by what is believed to have been a large shark,” police said.

Two sections of a surfboard were recovered and taken for forensic examination.

It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when 35-year-old British diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed off Little Bay.

The previous fatal attack in the city was in 1963.

Following the latest attack, Pacific Ocean beaches between the northern suburbs of Manly and Narrabeen were closed “pending further notice”. Punch