
A 12-year-old boy has died in hospital after suffering injuries from a shark attack in Sydney Harbour last week, Australian authorities have confirmed.
Nico Antic was attacked on January 18 while jumping off a cliff with his friends. Authorities suspect the attack was carried out by a bull shark.
"It is with broken hearts that we announce that our son, Nico, has passed away," his parents, Lorena and Juan, said in a public statement.
The family described Nico as "a cheerful, friendly and sporty boy, with an extremely kind and generous spirit," adding that this is how they will always remember him.
Following the incident, his friends were praised for their bravery, as they immediately jumped into the water to help him. Nico suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Sydney Children's Hospital in a critical condition, where he underwent surgery and was placed in an induced coma. However, he did not survive his injuries.
An online campaign to support the family has so far raised around 240,000 Australian dollars.
The incident is one of four reported shark attacks along the New South Wales coast in two days. There have been several incidents along Australia's east coast in the past week, three of them in the Sydney area.
Experts attribute the increase in attacks to heavy rainfall, which creates favorable conditions for bull sharks, which prefer murky waters. The rain also brings nutrients to the coast, bringing the predators closer to areas frequented by humans.
As a precautionary measure, some beaches in Sydney were temporarily closed, but most have reopened for the Australia Day holiday weekend.