BATHERS were cleared out of the water at Benidorm’s Poniente beach this morning(August 12) after a blue shark swam ended up close to the shore.
The two-metre long specimen was sighted at around 11.00 am at the beach section close to the El Murtal ravine.
The area was cordoned off as Benidorm’s Policia Local maritime unit tried to coax the animal to return to deeper waters.
Their initial attempts proved to be futile suggesting the shark was either sick or had suffered some kind of injury.
Experts from the Oceanografic de Valencia arrived later to help the disorientated shark.
As of 2.00 pm, the rescue operation was still in progress.
Blue sharks are generally harmless to humans and have washed up in recent years on Costa Blanca beaches.
A dead specimen was discovered at Guardamar del Segura last September and a deceased blue shark was found on a Santa Pola beach in February 2018.