Andre de Ruyter was critically injured in a shark attack at North Steyne Beach in Australia on Monday, Jan. 19

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 07: People avoid going on to Manly Beach on September 07, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. Multiple beaches on Sydney's northern suburbs have been closed after a fatal shark attack at Long Reef Beach on Saturday, where a 57-year-old experienced surfer lost his life after being mauled by a large shark approximately 100 meters from shore.

Manly Beach in Australia.Credit : Ayush Kumar/Getty

A surfer remains hospitalized after being attacked by a shark in Australia.

At around 6:20 p.m. local time on Monday, Jan. 19, Andre de Ruyter was bitten by a shark while surfing at North Steyne Beach, Manly, said the New South Wales Police in a news release. He was “pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid before the arrival of emergency services,” police said.

de Ruyter — a musician who frequently plays at venues across Sydney’s northern beaches — was treated for serious leg injuries by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.

The 27-year-old is one of four victims of shark attacks along the NSW coast this month.

Signs for the temporary closure of a beach due to the sighting of sharks are seen on North Steyne Beach in Manly, in Sydney, New South Wales on January 19, 2026. A shark bit a surfer on January 20 in an Australian state's fourth attack recorded over the past 48 hours, authorities said.

Manly Beach in Australia.Steven Markham / AFP via Getty

Two fellow surfers, Ash and Eduardo, recalled to 10 News riding waves at the same beach, when they heard de Ruyter screaming in the distance.

“He sort of paused to catch his breath and then the shouting started,” Ash recalled to the outlet. “He’s just going ‘Shark! Shark! Shark! Shark!’ And bouncing up and down, like, as I looked over and it was so animated I thought it was just a terrible joke.”

“Then he starts shouting, ‘No joke, no joke! It’s biting me, it’s biting me! It’s eating me, it’s eating me! It’s killing me!’ ” he continued, noting that de Ruyter appeared to be trying to shake off the shark’s latch on his right leg.

Moments later, the pair saw blood in the water and the shark’s tail flipped above the surface.

Ash wasn’t sure how much help he could be in what he described as a scene “out of a horror movie,” but they immediately sprang into action and used their surfboards to get de Ruyter back to the shore.

“With each wave, we slowly moved closer and closer to shore,” Ash recalled. “I told him not to look back, don’t look at your leg, just keep paddling. He said to me, ‘Tourniquet, tourniquet, tourniquet.’ He saved himself in a way. I started screaming it.”

Despite his injuries, de Ruyter used his strength to help paddle himself back to shore and had “a death grip” on the board. He lost a significant amount of blood in the water.

Once he reached the shore, Sarah Lally, a volunteer surf lifesaver, ran to meet the group of surfers at the shoreline.

“I grabbed the big red first aid bag, oxygen and a defibrillator and ran straight down to the beach,” Lally told The Daily Telegraph. “When I got there I quickly assessed the situation and put on a proper tourniquet from the medical kit. He was unresponsive with shallow breathing so I started CPR.”

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 18: A surfer rides a wave at Queenscliff Bombora off Manly Beach on April 18, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. The large swell has been generated by a strong low pressure system moving down the East Coast of Australia.

Manly Beach in Australia.Cameron Spencer/Getty

“After 10 cycles of CPR we put the defibrillator on which analysed him and said no shock was required,” Lally continued, noting that a few of the Manly lifeguards were still on duty at the time. “I then rotated to the surfer’s head and began administering oxygen and started rotating the people through the CPR.”

Luckily, Dr. Brian Burns, the Royal North Shore Hospital’s trauma expert, was also nearby at the time of the attack and prepped de Ruyter for a transfusion of blood and fluids to ensure the CPR would be effective.

“The lifeguards and the volunteer from the surf club were doing a great job,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “We all worked together as a team. It is a privilege to be a part of this community. He received the very best care he could from our trauma system.”

Tracy Hare-Boyd, the on-call officer and chief executive of Surf Life Saving on the Northern Beaches, added, “He had bled out in the water and there was no blood on the sand. He desperately needed more blood and fluids to keep him alive.”

On Jan. 20, authorities confirmed that de Ruyter had part of his lower leg amputated and remains in intensive care, 9 News Australia reported.

In a statement obtained by the Manly Observer, his mom said, “We would like to express our gratitude to all the brave first responders to our son Andre relating to the shark attack at Manly Beach [Monday].

“Andre de Ruyter, our compassionate, talented musician, graphic artist and lover of surfing has been placed in a stable condition with wonderful attentive medical staff,” she continued. “We ask for positive energy around his recovery and will give more information when he is ready.”