Australian state to review drone curbs after shark attack

Restrictions on drones flying over Australia's Coogee Beach will be reviewed by a regulator so rescuers in New South Wales state can monitor for sharks, after an attack on June 13 left a woman critically injured in the hospital.



Emergency services were called to Coogee Beach in eastern Sydney on the morning of June 13 following reports that a 35-year-old woman had been bitten by a large shark about 30m from the shore.



She was in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital on June 14, after sustaining serious injuries to her lower left leg and arms.



Coogee Beach and others in the city’s Randwick Council area were closed for 24 hours following the attack.



Drones flew overhead under emergency provisions to scan for sharks.



“It’s been a really tough summer of shark activity and shark attacks in Sydney and it’s something that the New South Wales government is taking really, really seriously,” according to Tara Moriarty, New South Wales state’s minister for agriculture.



Moriarty said the government would consider fresh measures to keep swimmers safe from shark attacks, including using drones and other technology.