Shark attack Elizabeth Bay Sydney Harbour: Update after woman rushed to hospital after being mauled: 'Blood everywhere'

A young woman mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbor is now in a stable condition in hospital and will undergo surgery this afternoon for injuries sustained in the attack.

Emergency services rushed to a private boatyard in Elizabeth Bay at 7.45pm on Monday to find Lauren O'Neill suffering from a serious bite to her right leg and 'major blood loss'.

A visiting vet had already applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the woman's leg and may have saved her life, but there are fears she could lose her leg.

'She had severe bleeding. Her injuries are serious,” a NSW Ambulance spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia last night.

The vet and her wife Georgia were first on the scene to treat the swimmer and kept her alive until emergency services arrived.

Georgia said the couple heard a scream and the victim “swam to a boat, but on the way back she was bitten by a bull shark.”

“We ran out, my wife is a vet, she actually bandaged it… the bone is broken, it's quite hectic actually,” she said.

“It looks like she's okay, she's in shock. Me, too.

“We got her bandaged up, we kept her warm and my wife actually bandaged her up to stop the bleeding.

'If she had been bitten there (further), she would not have survived.'

A resident living nearby named Romain told the Sydney Morning Herald he saw the woman trying to pull herself out of the water.

“She was attacked about 20 yards from the jetty – there was blood all over the water and all over the jetty,” he said.

Elizabeth Bay resident Michael told the Today Show there was blood everywhere.

“Her leg was kind of dragging behind her and the water behind her was completely red with blood,” he said.

Michael said she swam outside a “harbor pool with nets” and “swam around the boats.”

He also praised the vet who came to her rescue.

'She was an absolute hero. And I think it saved her life,” he said.

“She had wraps and tourniquets and immediately went into emergency mode, and we were all there together as a team.”

The woman was taken to Sint-Vincentius Hospital by ambulance after being treated by a doctor on the spot. She is now in stable condition.

Marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck said it was likely a bull shark that attacked the woman.

'My first reaction is why there is someone in the harbor at night. It is not advisable. It is an area where many sharks are active,” he told Sunrise.

'We need to recognize where the best places are to recognize where the best places are to swim and where might not be.

'We know there is shark activity in the harbour. People need to be aware of the risk. During the day, in full sun, sharks are slightly less active.

'Their sensors are on high alert in the evening and early morning. Those are the times when I would avoid swimming in the harbor,” he explained.

A NSW Police spokesperson said the woman was swimming when she was bitten on the right leg and suffered serious lacerations.

“Police learned she was swimming off the dock at the time. The Marine Area Command is patrolling the area as a precaution,” the spokesperson said.

“(The NSW Department of) Primary Industries will be the authority to determine if the woman was bitten by a shark/what type of shark.”

Sydney City Councilor Linda Scott said she was “extremely concerned” when she heard about the attack.

“Please stay out of the port until further notice,” she said.

'Thank you to the bystanders who bravely helped, and to St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney for their care of the victim.'

In February 2022, British Simon Nellist was killed by a 4.5-metre great white shark at Little Bay in Sydney's south-east.

He was Sydney's first confirmed fatality in 60 years.