Sydney, Australia. Australia’s aviation regulator will review drone restrictions over Coogee Beach after a shark attack on Saturday left a 35-year-old woman critically injured. Authorities in New South Wales said they were also considering further safety measures, including expanded use of drones and other technology.
Attack and response
Emergency services were called to Coogee Beach in eastern Sydney on Saturday morning after reports that a woman had been bitten by a large shark about 30 metres from shore.
The woman remained in critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital on Sunday, a spokesperson told Reuters. She sustained serious injuries to her lower left leg and arms.
Coogee Beach and other beaches in the Randwick Council area were closed for 24 hours following the attack. Drones were deployed under emergency provisions to scan for sharks.
Government review
New South Wales Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said the government was taking the recent shark activity in Sydney seriously.
“It’s been a really tough summer of shark activity and shark attacks in Sydney and it’s something that the NSW government is taking really, really seriously,” Moriarty said.
She said the government would consider fresh measures to keep swimmers safe from shark attacks, including the use of drones and other technology.
Drone restrictions
Australian lifesavers use drones to help monitor for sharks, but Coogee Beach has restrictions on commercial drone use because it is under the flight path of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.
Following the attack, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority said in a statement that the regulator would look at adapting the current rules.
Rescue account
Paddleboard champion and off-duty lifeguard Charlie Verco, 25, who rescued the woman and brought her to shore, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he was “very scared” when he saw the three-to-four-metre shark near a group of swimmers.
“I just looked at the beach, tried to signal to the lifeguards, a big code X, to get them to understand how it was going on out there, clear the water if they could, and get the power craft out there,” he said.