Sydney, Jan 18 : A boy, believed to be aged about 12, is in a critical condition after being bitten by a shark at Sydney Harbour beach in Australia on Sunday.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that emergency services were called to Hermitage Foreshore Walk near Shark Beach at Vaucluse, an eastern suburb of Sydney, at about 4:20 p.m. local time on Sunday afternoon, following reports of a boy being bitten by a shark.

ABC quoted the NSW Ambulance service as saying that the boy was in a critical condition with injuries to both legs and was being transported to the hospital, reports Xinhua news agency.

The beach was closed, and swimmers were advised to stay out of the water, according to the report.

In November last year, one person was killed, and another was hospitalised with serious injuries after they were attacked by a shark at a beach in an Australian national park.

Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) said that emergency services were called to reports that two people had been bitten by a shark at a beach at Crowdy Bay, a national park 270 km northeast of Sydney.

A police statement said that witnesses assisted the pair until the arrival of ambulance paramedics, but a woman believed to be aged in her 20s died at the scene.

A man, also believed to be aged in his 20s, sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital in a critical condition.

In October 2025, a teenager was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries after being bitten by a shark in Australia's far north.

Emergency services were called to Thursday Island off the north coast of the Australian state of Queensland following reports that a male aged in his mid-teens had been attacked by a shark while swimming.

The teenager was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening abdominal injuries before being airlifted over 1,000 kilometres to a hospital in the Queensland city of Townsville.

/IANS