World3 min(s) read
Published 15:25 16 Jun 2026 GMT
A young mother and primary school teacher has been left with life-threatening injuries after she was attacked by a shark while swimming at one of Australia’s most popular beaches.
The family of Leah Stewart, 35, has spoken out about the scale of her injuries after she was wounded by a suspected 3.5 metre shark while swimming within the safety flags of Coogee Beach on June 13.
Stewart suffered extreme blood loss and fractures after sustaining severe bites across all her limbs. Since the attack, she has had her arm amputated and is on life support in intensive care while she waits to undergo further surgeries.
Described by her family as a dedicated ocean swimmer and devoted mother, the mother to an 18-month-old daughter's life will be changed forever by her catastrophic injuries.
Joshua, Stewart's brother, told the Guardian: "She's so full of life, she's so energetic, she loves the ocean. She was swimming in the flags, really close to the shore, when it happened on a crystal-clear Saturday morning. She'd done all the right things."
When asked about the severity of his sister’s injuries, he added: "We're still waiting on further news from the hospital. There are multiple, quite serious injuries. This has been negatively life-changing for Leah. It is just such a tragic and horrific circumstance."
To help cover the inevitable costs of Stewart’s long-term specialist care, prosthetics, and rehabilitation, her family has set up a GoFundMe page dedicated to her lengthy recovery.
On the page Joshua wrote: "Leah faces a long road to recovery and your support will make a huge difference in her quality of life, rehabilitation and ability to go back to being a mom to her much-loved daughter."
Off-duty lifeguard, Charlie Verco, 24, helped save the teacher’s life by paddling towards the shark on his surfboard and dragging Stewart onto it.
He described how he courageously saved her life to ABC News, saying: "I could see the dorsal fin and the tail fin and the body of it, and I felt like I was looking up at the shark, just because it was so big.
"I thought it would be able to bite myself and my board in half without much effort."
According to the volunteer lifeguard, the shark dragged Stewart underwater before releasing her.
Verco said: "She was lucid enough to say 'help' and respond to instruction, but she was very much in shock and definitely freaked out."
Shortly after she was hauled onto the surfboard, emergency services arrived and airlifted Stewart to St Vincent’s hospital.
The Coogee Surf Life Saving Club's president, Ben Heenan, paid tribute to first responders who acted with "speed, precision, and a fair bit of courageousness."
