Australian state to review drone curbs after shark attack

MELBOURNE – Restrictions on drones flying over Australia's Coogee Beach will be reviewed by a regulator so rescuers in New South Wales state can monitor for sharks, after an attack on June 13 left a woman critically injured in the hospital.

Emergency services were called to Coogee Beach in eastern Sydney on the morning of June 13 following reports that a 35-year-old woman had been bitten by a large shark about 30m from the shore.

She was in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital on June 14, a spokesperson said, after sustaining serious injuries to her lower left leg and arms.

Coogee Beach and others in the city’s Randwick Council area were closed for 24 hours following the attack. Drones flew overhead under emergency provisions to scan for sharks.

“It’s been a really tough summer of shark activity and shark attacks in Sydney and it’s something that the New South Wales government is taking really, really seriously,” said Tara Moriarty, New South Wales state’s minister for agriculture.

Moriarty said the government would consider fresh measures to keep swimmers safe from shark attacks, including using drones and other technology.

Australian lifesavers use drones to help watch for sharks, but there are restrictions on commercial drone use at Coogee Beach because it sits under the flight path of Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.

After the attack, a Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman said in a statement that it would look at adapting the current rules.

Paddleboarder rescue

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 3m to 4m-long 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.

“She ended up getting taken underwater for a second. I couldn’t see where she was because it was all red. And luckily, she popped up and the shark had let her go and I was able to get close enough to bring her into shore.”

There, they were met by lifeguards, police and medical experts, after which the woman was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

Australia has seen a spate of shark attacks in 2026.

Most shark attacks occur along the east and south-east seaboard of Australia, which averages around 20 such incidents a year, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. REUTERS