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Surfer has extremely close call with shark at popular Sydney beach

A surfer at a popular Sydney beach had a very close call with a shark on Tuesday morning, with the man walking away with only a dent in his surfboard to show for the encounter.

Randwick City Council confirmed the incident on Facebook, saying the run-in happened at about 7.50am this morning.

Despite the ugly weather, the surfer was at Maroubra Beach – one of Sydney's most iconic surfing beaches.

Pictured is the surfboard which the shark latched on to
The surfer at Maroubra Beach had a close call with a shark on Tuesday morning. Source: Facebook/Randwick City Council

The council said no one was injured in the water, sharing a picture of a mildly beat-up surfboard.

Following the incident, lifeguards cleared the water and enquiries are ongoing.

Maroubra Beach was closed at the time of the encounter due to dangerous surf conditions.

"We are still gathering information," Randwick mayor Dylan Parker said this morning.

Last week, Lawrence Chlebeck, Marine Biologist from Humane Society International, told Yahoo News Australia people should avoid beaches amid heavy rain and flooding, due to sharks.

Pictured are surfers at Maroubra Beach near where the shark was.
Maroubra Beach was closed at the time of the incident due to dangerous conditions. Source: Facebook/Al Moore via Daily Mail

"Sharks are very intelligent animals and they've specialised in making the most of feeding opportunities," Mr Chlebeck explained.

"One of the things that sharks have learned to do is follow rivers after heavy rainfall because lots of different things will be washed into the ocean."

Maroubra beach is close to Little Bay Beach, where a swimmer was killed by a shark in February.

Pictured is Maroubra beach, taken from a live cam
The wet weather and flooding can draw in sharks. Source: Randwick City Council

The man sustained "catastrophic" injuries from the attack, which resulted in several beaches in the area being closed at the time.

Fatal shark attacks are exceedingly rare, with Australia recording the most fatal shark attacks in the world last year with three.

Yahoo News Australia has contacted Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club for comment.

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