Woman critically injured in shark attack at Sydney beach

A woman is in critical condition after being bitten by a shark at a beach in Sydney's east, in the latest in a spate of shark attacks in Australia.

Police said the attack at Coogee Beach took place just after 11 am local time (0100 GMT) on Saturday. "The woman was pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid before the arrival of emergency services," police said.

"She has large flesh wounds to the leg and the arms that are going to require a lot of surgery," a spokesperson for the New South Wales Ambulance said.

Helicopters and jet skis search for shark at Coogee

Authorities closed down Coogee Beach and several nearby beaches after Saturday's attack.

A shark-spotting helicopter hovered over the beach while jet skis were dispatched to patrol the waters for any sign of the predator. "We'll be working closely with the New South Wales government, awaiting instruction as to when it is safe to reopen," Council Mayor Dylan Parker told reporters.

Four people have been killed in an unusually high number of shark attacks across Australia this year.

Australian scientists believe rising ocean temperatures are shifting sharks' migratory patterns. That, coupled with increasingly crowded waters, could be contributing to frequent shark attacks.

Witnesses describe chaotic scene at Coogee

Nicola Logan, a witness to the attack, said she saw a "massive pool of blood" in the water. She then spotted the woman "kind of motioning to swim," and described "lots of splashing."

This comes just a week after a man died in a shark attack while fishing on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. Last month, a 38-year-old died after being attacked by a shark off an island in Western Australia.

There have been nearly 1,300 shark incidents around Australia since 1791. Of these, more than 260 resulted in death, according to a database of shark encounters with humans.