A woman in her 30s was left critically injured after being mauled by a shark at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Four people have been killed in a spate of shark attacks across the country this year.
The woman suffered serious injuries to her arms and legs and was pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid before emergency services arrived.
A shark-spotting helicopter and jet skis were dispatched to patrol the sea for signs of the predator.
A string of beaches along Sydney's eastern coast were closed as a precaution.
Experts believe increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures may be shifting sharks' migratory patterns, contributing to a rise in attacks.
