This is the heartbreaking moment a 7ft shark swims towards the coast of Gran Canaria, with the beach now forced to close to swimming amid terror for locals and tourists.
The youngsters could be heard screaming as the large fish approached shore at high speed with its telltale fin sticking out of the water.
Police rushed to Melenara beach, on the island’s east coast, after the alarm was raised at around 5pm yesterday.
Lifeguards had previously helped clear the sea and the red flag was raised shortly afterwards.
Footage from the scene showed the youths running to safety as the shark swam towards shore before returning at the last minute after becoming agitated in the water.
The police rushed to Melenara beach, on the east coast of Gran Canaria, after the shark sighting alert.
Footage from the scene showed the shark swimming toward shore before returning.
Another man was photographed holding a child in his arms from the safety of the sand as he watched him approach them.
A spokesperson for Telde City Council, the municipality that encompasses Melenara beach, said: “It is important that people remain calm and follow the instructions of lifeguards and authorities.”
A young woman who was in the water when the shark appeared told a local television station: “The lifeguard started blowing his whistle and signaling everyone to get out of the water and I looked around and saw his fin.”
A friend added: “We saw the fin which was about three inches out of the water and started moving as fast as we could towards the beach.”
A search for the shark in the area using jet skis failed to locate it.
It was unclear this morning whether the red flag would remain up today.
The fish was identified locally as a hammerhead shark that can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 1,000 pounds, although smaller sizes are more common.
Most species of hammerhead shark are considered harmless to humans and few attacks have been recorded, but they are aggressive hunters.
Last month, tourists and locals were banned from entering the sea after the sighting of a shark on a beach in Menorca.
The fish was identified locally as a hammerhead shark that can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 1,000 pounds.
Young people were seen running to safety when the shark approached around 5pm yesterday.
The search for the shark in the area with jet skis failed to locate it since a red flag was raised.
The coast guard raised the red flag and called the Spanish equivalent of 999 after the fin of a 7-foot blue shark, also known as tinterora, was seen above the waterline.
The alarm was raised around 3:30 p.m. on May 6 at the popular Arenal d’en Castell beach, the same place where another shark was sighted in June 2018, when bathers were also prohibited from entering the water throughout the day. late.
The sighting of Tinterora last month was described at the time as the first so far this year near a beach on the Coast.
Blue sharks rarely attack humans, but have been involved in several stinging incidents, four of which are said to have ended fatally.
A blue shark was blamed for attacking a tourist in Elche, near Alicante, in July 2016.
The victim, 40, was rushed to hospital and received stitches on a wound in his hand.
Lifeguards described the bite as “large” and said the man had emerged from the sea with blood dripping from the wound.
In June last year, an adult blue shark measuring 7 feet caused panic on Aguamarina beach on the Costa Blanca in Orihuela Costa, south of Alicante.
Beachgoers were filmed trying to run to safety through waist-deep water as it approached the shore.
The sighting was the latest in a series of shark sightings off Spain’s tourist coasts.
Arenal d’en Castell beach in Menorca, a popular destination that is also home to sharks
A British family was left “terrified” after being surrounded by a shark just off a beach at a popular holiday resort on the Spanish island of Menorca last month.
Passersby began shouting and calling for the lifeguard, who called for backup and turned off the red flags.
Lifeguards blew their whistles to warn locals and tourists about the big fish and urged them to get out of the sea as soon as possible.
A woman, believed to be an elderly person who was seen being helped out of the water, is said to have suffered a panic attack.
The shark was found dead the next day between the rocks of La Caleta beach in Cabo Roig, several kilometers away.
The same day it was learned that the same species of shark had been sighted inside the port of Ciutadella, in Menorca.
