Hol Brits’ terror at 8ft shark
Holiday Brits flee sea as 8ft Jaws swims towards kiddies
TERRIFIED swimmers ran from the sea when an 8ft shark raced towards them.
The predator caused mass panic on a Magaluf beach popular with Brit tourists.
TERRIFIED bathers fled when an 8ft shark raced towards the shore near Magaluf.
Photos show the blue shark swimming near a group of paddlers and children on lilos at Illetas on Mallorca.
The Civil Guard monitored the area for hours afterwards.
But less than 24 hours later a nearby beach was closed by the local council when a shark, believed to be the same one, was spotted.
A spokesman for Calvia Council, which covers Illetas, confirmed the blue shark had approached the beach.
He said: “It approached the beach at Illetas on Saturday between 12 and 1pm.
“It was kept under control and the beach is being watched as well today.
“The one seen off Cala Major appears to be the same one. It has been kept under close watch since early morning.”
But a shark thought to be behind the scares was caught yesterday. It was taken to shore around 5pm by lifeguards after bathers were ordered out of the water at a third beach following a new sighting.
Local reports said it had a serious head injury, caused by a harpoon, believed to have led it to become disorientated and approach packed holiday beaches instead of staying at high sea as is normal.
Earlier Can Pastilla beach, a short drive east of the capital Palma, had become the third beach in two days to be closed to bathers following a shark sighting.
It was not immediately clear how the fish had been injured.
Experts from Palma Aquarium were called to the beach to evaluate its injuries, amid fears it was so badly hurt it may have to be put down.
A blue shark was blamed for an attack on an 82-year-old man in Ibiza last month, leaving him needing emergency treatment.
Search
The Spaniard was treated for a two-inch gash to his hand in the attack off the beach at Playa d’en Bossa.
First aiders launched a search for the creature but abandoned their hunt after about an hour when they failed to find any sign of it.
The blue shark, one of the most common species in the Mediterranean, was also blamed for an attack on a holidaymaker in Elche near Alicante last July.
The 40-year-old victim was taken to hospital and given stitches to a wound in his hand.
First aiders described the bite as “large” and said he had come out of the sea with blood streaming from the injury. It happened at Elche’s Arenales del Sol beach.