Woman killed in fatal shark attack at Kylie’s Beach, Crowdy Bay on NSW north coast

A woman has been killed and a man has miraculously survived with the help of an heroic bystander after a horror shark attack at a remote beach in northern NSW.

Emergency services rushed to Kylie’s Beach in Crowdy Bay on the north coast of NSW after a triple-0 call around 6.30am on Thursday alerted them to the unfolding tragedy.

Witnesses assisted the pair before the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics, however, the woman died at the scene.

She is believed to be in her 20s and is yet to be formally identified and the man, also believed to be aged in his 20s, “sustained serious injuries and has been airlifted to the John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition”, according to police statement.

The beach has been closed as authorities, including experts from the Department of Primary Industries, investigate to determine the species of shark involved.

“We have surf lifesaving personnel on the scene,” NSW Surf Lifesaving CEO Steven Pearce said.

“We will be using drones and all our technology and people to try and locate the shark and assist authorities,” Mr Pearce told 2GB’s Ben Fordham soon after the event.

Emergency services and Surf Life Saving NSW held a media briefing on Thursday afternoon and addressed the idea that more than one shark may have been involved in the attack.

“That’ll be a matter for crime scene experts to determine,” said Great Lakes Police District Chief Inspector Timothy Bayly.

“Obviously beaches are closed in the area and further north and we will seek advice from the experts as to how long those closures will take place. Hopefully, they will identify the particular shark involved.”

A beachgoer who witnessed the frenetic attack has been praised for their heroism in the crucial moments after pair were mauled in the water.

“NSW ambulance reported around 6.30am at that beach and we had multiple ambulance resources attend including Westpac medical and they were on scene with one male patient, but sadly the female is deceased,” NSW Ambulance Mid North Coast Zone Manager Josh Smyth added.

“I need to have a shout out to the bystander on the beach who put a makeshift tourniquet on the male’s leg potentially saving his life and allowed NSW ambulance paramedics to get to him and supply first aid.

“What I can say is the male patient was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition and that tourniquet saved his life, shout out to the individual.

“The courage from some bystanders is amazing in the situation. . .to put yourself out there is very heroic and it did give us time to get to that male patient, so it is really good and those kinds of things and events like that really need to be called out.”

Beaches in the area will remain closed as drones scour the water to try to identify the shark or sharks responsible.

“This occurred earlier when there was no patrols on at that time. We just had people deployed to the area to assist in an incident that happened quite quickly,” Surf Lifesaving NSW spokesperson James Turner said.

“We are working with the authorities now about getting information out to the public about the beach closures. We need to get signage and get that message out there.

“We do have the Surf Life Saving New South Wales drone working in the area at the moment and doing surveillance. They will be in the area keeping an eye out for any activity in the water.

“The message we want to get out there is for people to find a patrolled beach. We want them to be aware of the risk and obviously sharks are one of those risks,” Mr Turner said about swimming at beaches that are not patrolled by lifeguards.