Sydney in shock after three shark attacks in just over 24 hours

A boy suffered serious injuries to both legs after jumping from a ledge known as Jump Rock, near Shark Beach

A ferry sails past a closed beach at Vaucluse in Sydney, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, a day after a boy was attacked by a shark. (Sitthixay Ditthavong/AAP Image via AP) (AAP)

Three separate shark attacks in Sydney over just 24 hours have left the city in shock.

On Monday police reported that the latest incident saw a surfer in his twenties bitten on the leg by a shark off North Steyne Beach in Manly at 6:20pm local time.

Bystanders rescued him from the water before an ambulance rushed him to hospital in a critical condition. Another boy was also critically injured in a separate attack, while a third boy's surfboard was bitten.

On Sunday, a 12-year-old boy suffered serious injuries to both legs after jumping from a six-meter (20-foot) high ledge known as Jump Rock, near Shark Beach inside Sydney Harbor in the eastern suburb of Vaucluse.

Police have credited the boy’s three friends with saving his life by jumping from the cliff during the attack and dragging him back to shore.

“The actions of his mates who have gone into the water to pull him out have been nothing but brave,” Supt. Joseph McNulty told reporters.

“Those actions of those young men are brave under the circumstances and very confronting injuries for those boys to see,” McNulty added.

A net runs into Sydney Harbour at a closed beach at Vaucluse in Sydney, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, a day after a boy was attacked by a shark. (Sitthixay Ditthavong/AAP Image via AP) (AAP)

News media have reported that the boy lost both legs in the attack.

Around noon on Monday, an 11-year-old boy was on a surfboard that was attacked by a shark at Dee Why Beach, an ocean beach north of Manly. The shark bit off a chunk of the board, but the boy escaped uninjured.

Local authorities said Sydney’s northern beaches, including North Steyne and Dee Why, would remain closed until further notice.

All three beaches near where the attacks occurred have some form of shark protection netting. It was not immediately clear where the attacks occurred in relation to that netting.

Authorities suspect bull sharks are responsible for at least the first two attacks.

Police had warned after the first attack that recent heavy rain over Sydney had increased the amount of fresh and murky water inside the harbor, heightening the bull shark danger.

Dee Why Beach is close to Ocean Reef Beach where a 57-year-old surfer was killed by a suspected white shark last September.

In November, a 25-year-old Swiss tourist was killed and her partner was seriously injured trying to save her as they swam off a national park north of Sydney.