Shark attacks woman at Coogee beach as paddleboarder tries to help

Elite paddleboarder Charlie Verco was training for July’s world championships in Hawaii at Sydney’s Coogee beach on Saturday morning when he heard a swimmer shout “shark”.

He paddled toward a large grey shadow in the water where about three people were close by. Several swimmers tried to climb onto his 18-foot board.

“I’m familiar with shark behaviour and it looked like it was just being inquisitive, it didn’t look like aggressive behaviour,” Verco told Guardian Australia.

A trained surf life saver, Verco tried to signal lifeguards on shore to sound the shark alarm. Then another woman began screaming.

“I could see she was being dragged around by something … there was a lot of blood in the water, it was quite shocking,” he said.

The shark surfaced. Verco saw its dorsal fin and estimated it was about 3.5 metres long. He said he had seen only one larger shark, a tiger shark in Hawaii.

The woman disappeared and then reappeared. The shark released her, and Verco helped her grab his board. She soon lost consciousness and could not hold on.

Verco held her with one hand and paddled toward shore with the other. The alarm sounded after what felt like a long time, though he later said the trip to the shallows took about three to five minutes.

Bystanders brought the woman ashore. New South Wales Ambulance said she suffered arm and leg injuries and was taken to St Vincent’s hospital. Multiple crews treated her on the beach after the attack, which occurred just after 11am. The woman, who is in her 30s, remained in critical condition on Saturday evening.

All beaches from Bondi to Maroubra were closed and will stay closed for at least 24 hours, a Surf Life Saving New South Wales spokesperson said.

Chief executive Steve Pearce said it was the fourth serious shark incident in Sydney since September 2025. “We are sending our best wishes to the woman involved and her family at this time, after another terrible shark incident on our coastline,” he said.