A young surfer has narrowly escaped being bitten during a shark attack at a Sydney beach a day after a boy was severely mauled in the city's harbour.
The 11-year-old was surfing at Dee Why Beach, on Sydney's northern beaches, on Monday morning when a shark bit his board several times, taking a clear chunk out of the mid-section.
The young surfer was unharmed and left the water with other boardriders.
Dee Why Beach was closed at the time of the attack due to large swells and remained closed as investigations into the incident continued, Surf Life Saving NSW said.
The organisation is providing assistance through drone surveillance.
Local media outlet Manly Observer shared a photo of the boy's board alongside reports from witnesses who said they saw a bull shark up to five feet (1.5 metres) long.
The attack comes less than 24 hours after three teenagers heroically leapt into action to save the life of a friend who was critically injured in a shark attack in eastern Sydney.
The 13-year-old boy remains in hospital with injuries to both legs after being bitten by a shark at a swimming spot in Vaucluse on Sunday afternoon.
Dee Why is also a stone's throw from where avid surfer Mercury Psillakis, 57, was fatally mauled by a shark in September.
Police on Monday urged people stay out of the water after bucketing rain drenched Sydney and its surrounds at the weekend.
Extra fresh water in the harbour after recent heavy rain, combined with the splashing effect from people jumping off a rock face, created a "perfect storm" for Sunday's shark attack, Superintendent Joseph McNulty said.
"I would recommend not swimming in the harbour or our other river systems across NSW at this time," he told reporters before the Dee Why incident was reported.
Heavy swell has also prevented the operation of smart drumlines, which notify authorities of shark activity, along most of the NSW coast since Sunday.
The teenager injured in Sunday's attack underwent surgery overnight and remained in a critical condition at Randwick Children's Hospital on Monday, surrounded by family.
He and his friends were jumping off a six-metre rock into the ocean when the shark struck.
At least one of the victim's friends jumped into the water and pulled him out after the attack, while the others called for emergency services, McNulty said.
"The actions of his mates who have gone into the water to pull him out have been nothing but brave," he said.
"Those actions of those young men are brave under the circumstances and very confronting injuries for those boys to see, but I suppose that's mateship."
The primary industries department, which oversaw shark mitigation, was working to identify the species of shark involved in the attack, with initial reports suggesting it was a bull shark.
The incident happened near Nielsen Park and Shark Beach, a popular swimming spot for families with a netted area inside Sydney Harbour.
Multiple swimmers have been attacked by sharks in the harbour in recent years, including a young woman who was bitten on the leg at Elizabeth Bay in early 2024.
Mercury Psillakis's death – at Long Reef Beach on Sydney's northern beaches – caused the state government to pull a trial to remove a handful of shark meshing nets off popular beaches.
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