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Man killed in Sydney shark attack ‘was British expat’

Friends said 35-year-old Simon Nellist ‘loved the water’ and was an experienced diving instructor.

17 February 2022

A swimmer killed in a shark attack in Australia has been named locally as a British man.

Friends said 35-year-old Simon Nellist “loved the water” and was an experienced diving instructor.

It is believed Mr Nellist was a British expatriate living in the Wolli Creek area of Sydney, and was engaged to be married.

New South Wales Police told the PA news agency the search for his remains would continue at sunrise on Friday.

Emergency services were called to Little Bay at around 4.35pm local time on Wednesday after reports a swimmer had been attacked by a shark.

Della Ross, the victim’s friend, was among those paying tribute.

She told broadcaster 7News: “Everything that is connected to Simon, to me is connected to the ocean.

“The news hit us like a truck because he is really one of the people that makes this earth better.”

Witness Kris Linto said the swimmer was in the water when the shark “came and attacked him vertically”.

He told Nine News TV: “We heard a yell and then turned around, it looked like a car just landed in the water, big splash.”

Lucky Phrachnanh, from New South Wales state ambulance, said the victim “suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the attack”, adding there was nothing paramedics could do when they arrived at the scene.

The incident is believed to be the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963.

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