Boy, 12, mauled by shark while swimming with friends dies after week in hospital
Nico Antic, the 12-year-old boy who was mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbour, has died in hospital.
He was swimming with his friends at Nielsen Park on Sunday when he was attacked by what is thought to be a bull shark around 4.20pm.
Nico suffered serious injuries to both of his legs, and was only able to survive after the other children bravely dragged him out of the water and onto some nearby rocks.
They said: ‘We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed away.
‘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.
‘We ask you [to] please respect our privacy during this exceptionally difficult time.’
On Wednesday his parents Lorena and Juan confirmed he was brain dead and would not wake up.
He was just weeks away from celebrating his 13th birthday.
Nico’s friend, who dragged him out of the water, described holding him as he was fighting for life.
He told 7News: ‘He kept fighting and breathing in my arms and he never gave up for a second.
‘He was the most stubborn person I know and I’m grateful I was there for his last moments awake.
‘There was a brief second where Nico woke up while he was bleeding and he just looked at me and then stopped and I thought I lost him, and I’m so surprised he fought for so long.’
Nico wasn’t the only person to suffer injuries in a shark attack – a surfer was injured in the fourth attack in just 48 hours, shortly after Nico was rushed to the hospital.
A 38-year-old man suffered a ‘wound’ to his chest, medics said, while surfing Tuesday morning.
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