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Hundreds of swimmers at a surf carnival flee the water at Manly Beach after a dolphin was attacked by a group of sharks near the shore.
- Swimmers pulled from the beach after a dolphin mauled
- The dolphin stranded on Shelly Beach at 8 a.m. Saturday
- Hundreds were eliminated when the surf contest was about to start
- The dolphin was believed to have been injured by a shark.
Hundreds of swimmers attending a surf carnival were suddenly pulled from the water after a dolphin was attacked by a pod of bull sharks.
The dolphin washed up on Shelly Beach around 8am on Saturday morning as hundreds gathered on the beach in northern Sydney for the Manly Surf Carnival.
The shark alarm was sounded off both Manly and Shelly Beach when SLS NSW reportedly spotted three 2.5m bull sharks in the area just before 9am.
Hundreds of swimmers were pulled from the waters at Manly and Shelly Beach after a dolphin was attacked by a shark around 8am on Saturday (pictured)
The dolphin could be seen slowly circling in the water in anguish.
It is believed that he sustained an injury to his tail when lifeguards tried to save the animal’s life.
Surf Life Saving NSW said in a statement: “A Surf Life Saving UAV has been monitoring shark activity from the air and has seen a number of sharks in the area.”
The Manly Open Surf Classic includes Ironman and Ironwoman events involving paddle boarding and swimming past the Manly beach breaks.
The events calendar there were children under the age of 15 competing in the water at the time the dolphin was believed to have been mutilated.
Hundreds were expected to participate in events over the weekend, with many more casually swimming at the beaches.
The event has since been suspended until further notice.
Surf Life Saving NSW said Manly and Shelly beaches would remain closed for the rest of the day.
The dolphin is believed to have sustained a tail injury and washed up on Shelly Beach as lifeguards worked to save the animal’s life.
Bull shark populations are exploding around Sydney as warmer weather attracts predators to populated waters.
A fisherman caught two 10-foot bull sharks in popular swimming areas in Sydney as they headed south to follow their prey.
One was caught in Sydney Harbor just a kilometer from a newly opened swimming spot at Barangaroo.
The other was captured just a few weeks later at Dolls Beach in Botany Bay.