ARCHIVED - Blue shark sighted just metres away from bathers in Benidorm!

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Bathers in the Marina Baixa area of Alicante were alarmed to see the large shark so close to the shore

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Blue shark sighted just metres away from bathers in Benidorm!

A blue shark was sighted at the beach of Benidorm this Thursday, August 12, just metres away from bathers who gathered to take pictures and catch a glimpse of the marine animal.

The 2-metre-long shark caused panic amongst people swimming in the sea and the maritime unit of the Policía Local soon arrived at the scene to try and usher the animal back out to sea and cordon off the area. However, the shark continued to swim towards the coast, leading the authorities to believe that it could be injured.

Sigue el tiburón en la playa de Poniente en Benidorm. @navedelmisterio , ¿Qué tal un programa sobre los cambios de hábitos de los animales marinos? pic.twitter.com/GQ1GLlLRqD
— Vanessa Palomar (@Campanitalover) August 12, 2021

In videos posted on social media the blue shark can be seen thrashing about in the shallow water off Poniente beach in Benidorm.

Three technicians from Oceanografic, helped by the Policía Local and the municipal lifeguard services, took charge of the animal and accompanied it back out to sea, after checking for any injuries and taking a blood sample.

The staff from Oceanografic also administered medication to the shark, to build its strength back after an exhausting ordeal, as well as weighing and measuring the animal, which was 2.5 metres long and weighed around 60 kilos.

The blue shark (Prionace glauca) has been classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “vulnerable” and the Mediterranean population of this fish has declined by 97 per cent since the mid-20th century, according to the Oceana association.

IMAGE: @Campanitalover on Twitter