Feb 1 (Reuters) – An Australian boy who died after being bitten by a shark in Sydney Harbour was honoured in a surfing ceremony at Bondi Beach on Sunday, following a series of shark attacks along the country’s east coast.
Nico Antic, 12, died in hospital on January 24, six days after being attacked when he and his friends jumped off rocks in Vaucluse, around 9 km (5.5 miles) from Sydney’s central business district. Friends pulled him from the water with severe injuries to both legs.
On Sunday, a community “paddle-out” at Bondi Beach honoured Nico, with aerial Australian Broadcasting Corp. footage showing paddle boarders and surfers forming a large circle in the ocean.
Local surf lifesavers, as well as school friends and relatives, took part, local media reported.
Dozens of beaches, including in Sydney, were closed in January after four shark attacks in two days, as heavy rains left water murky and more likely to attract sharks.
In September, a surfer was killed by a large shark at Sydney’s Long Reef Beach.
Australia averages 20 shark attacks a year, fewer than three of them fatal, according to data from conservation groups. Those numbers are dwarfed by drownings on the country’s beaches.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in SydneyEditing by Rod Nickel)
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