26 July 2023 , 08:40
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Terrified swimmers had to sprint out of the water after two sharks were spotted close to the shoreline of a popular Spanish beach.
Swimmers were forced to head to land at Port de la Selva beach in the northeast of Catalunya after the two predatory beasts were seen moving closer to the beach on Monday. Beachgoers cooling off in the water alerted lifeguards after they saw fins in the water.
The news comes just a day after a two-metre (6.56ft) shark was spotted on Saturday close to a beach in Le Barcarès, in southern France bordering the Mediterranean Sea. David Simian, the chief lifeguard on the beach, said the evacuation was ordered as a precaution after they saw the dark shape in the water. He said: "Lifeguards took a boat out and saw it was a shark. It was a blue shark that is no threat to humans."
Another shark was spotted in France earlier in the week too (@doudzi83/TikTok)When the two weren't found, the red flag was lowered and swimmers returned to the water – but just half an hour later another sighting sent people fleeing once more for the safety of dry land. Earlier in the month, British tourists and locals were enjoying a dip on a beach in Torremolinos, Malaga when another beast was seen darting under the surface.
Dozens of people raced to get out of the water and to find safety on shore as the shark's dorsal spin was spotted piercing the waves off the coastal resort town. It was the fifth similar sighting reported in a month.
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There have only been two registered cases of shark bites in Spain in 400 years and none of them were fatal. In France, only five shark attacks have been reported since 1847, according to the International Shark Attack File.
The sharks in Spain were also believed to be blue sharks. They rarely bite humans but lifeguards raised the red flag in both instances and banned people from swimming. Blue sharks prefer to swim in cold water but with climate change raising sea temperatures, the sharks are searching for cooler spots — so they are swimming in more varied areas than usual.