After a shark attack last week, a 12-year-old Australian boy who was barely surviving has now passed away.
While swimming in the well-known Sydney Harbour, Nico Antic was bitten by a suspected bull shark, causing serious injuries.
On January 18, just before 4:20 p.m. local time, Nico Antic entered the water outside of the area covered by anti-shark nets while cliff-jumping with two friends at Jump Rock near Shark Beach in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse.
Large sharks are less likely to enter approved swimming areas thanks to the enclosures, which are physical barriers.
Nico suffered severe injuries and significant blood loss after the shark bit him once on both legs while he was in the water.
According to authorities, the vicious bite severed major blood vessels and tissue.
One of Nico’s friends leaped into the water and dragged him toward the rocks right after the attack.
While emergency personnel raced to the scene, another friend assisted Nico in being lifted onto a rock platform.
Police and emergency crews applied tourniquets in an effort to stem the bleeding before transporting Nico by boat to a nearby ferry wharf.
An ambulance then rushed him to the hospital, where he received a blood transfusion during transport after the tourniquets proved insufficient to stop the blood loss.
Within hours, Nico underwent emergency surgery at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick and was placed into a medically induced coma.
He remained in intensive care for days in critical condition. Doctors kept him on life support, administered additional transfusions and performed brain surgery in an effort to relieve swelling and bleeding.
Sadly, by Saturday, Jan. 24, Nico was declared brain-d£ad due to complications from his injuries. His family later made the decision to withdraw life support.
“We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed away,” his parents, Lorena and Juan, said in a joint statement.
“Nico was a happy, friendly, and sporty young boy with the most kind and generous spirit. He was always full of life and that’s how we’ll remember him.
“We would like to sincerely thank the first responders and the teams at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick for everything they did to care for Nico.
“We would also like to thank everyone in the community for their support and kind messages.”
A GoFundMe campaign that was launched to help the family has raised more than $270,000 as of Sunday, Jan. 25.
Marine experts said the shark involved was suspected to be a bull shark — a species known to frequent Sydney Harbor, which can grow up up to 11 feet in length and 290 lbs.
Bull sharks also have the strongest bite force of any shark in the world.
Dozens of beaches in the Sydney area were closed in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Authorities and scientists pointed to extreme weather conditions the day before the attack that may have increased the risk.