PROVINCIA DE TARRAGONA – It is not the first time that beachgoers in Spain have been startled by the close presence of a shark. The animal that frightens so many people either swims close to shore or, in some cases, washes up on a beach often more dead than alive.
This time it happened on Tuesday around a quarter past one on a beach of De Les Avellanes in L’Ampolla. The specimen lay on the shore, prompting many beachgoers to approach the unfortunate creature with their mobile phones to capture it.
It was a blue shark that seemed disoriented because it spent a long time on the shore of a beach, which is very accessible. Meanwhile, local police urged swimmers not to enter the water.
Blue sharks spotted more often
It is not the first time such a scene has occurred in the region. On April 20, 2016, a local helped a two-metre-long blue shark trapped in the sand on a beach in L’Ampolla to return to the high seas.
In June last year, the Arenal beach of Vandellós i l’Hospitalet de l’Infant was completely evacuated by the local police for two hours. That was after two blue sharks were sighted near the coast.
The beach was reopened after the Coast Guard search failed to find the sharks, which can grow to about ten feet in length. The presence of blue sharks is common in these waters but can pose a risk to swimmers. There are known cases when a swimmer was bitten by a shark. Consequently, some swimmers chose not to return to the sea as a precaution.
Also in July, a beach in Sitges was evacuated due to the presence of a shark close to shore.
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