This emergency measure was declared by the Knysna municipal manager, Grant Easton, following a shark attack in Buffalo Bay earlier this afternoon.
At this stage all that is known is that the teenage boy was from out of town, that he has lost a leg, and has been airlifted to George Provincial Hospital after Knysna NSRI and emergency services attended to him on the scene.
Easton confirmed that all beaches in the Knysna area - from Leisure Isle, to Brenton, Noetzie and those in Sedgefield - were now closed to bathing until further notice as a precaution in case the shark that attacked this swimmer is still in the vicinity.
Today’s shark attack is the second in only days.
Yesterday's incident took place in the surf zone off-shore of Lookout Beach in Plettenberg Bay. Australian surfer 23-year-old Dylan Reddering was attacked but transported to hospital and is in a stable condition.