Shark sightings are not uncommon in Spain’s Canary Islands (Picture: Solarpix)
A beach in the Canary Islands has been shut down after reports of a massive shark in local waters.
As the tail fin of the terrifying creature was seen approaching the shore, young girls could reportedly be heard screaming with police racing in to Melanara beach on Gran Canaria yesterday afternoon.
Not long after 5pm local time, the alarm had been well and truly sounded, with lifeguards helping to clear the sea and a red flag hoisted above the sands soon after.
Horrifying footage shows young people dashing away from the water as the shark thrashed around in the shallows.
One holidaymaker was seen clutching a child in his arms as he watched the giant shark moving through the sea.
A spokesman for Telde Council said: ‘It’s important people stay calm and follow the instructions of the lifeguards and the authorities.’
Speaking with a local TV station, a young girl who was present on the beach for the ordeal said: ‘The lifeguard started blowing his whistle and indicating everyone should get out of the water and I looked round and saw its fin.’
The shark’s telltale tail fin was spotted sailing swiftly toward the shore (Picture: Solarpix)
Her friend added: ‘We saw the fin which was about seven inches out of the water and we began to move as fast as we could back towards the beach.’
Authorities swiftly mounted jet skis in an effort to locate the shark, though these efforts were to prove fruitless.
It was seen to thrash around in the shallows before heading out again to deeper water, and has not been seen since (Picture: Solarpix)
There have not since been any confirmed sightings, though it remains unclear whether the red flag, banning people from entering the waters, will remain in place today.
The shark is understood to have been a hammerhead, which can grow up to 20 feet and at their largest clock in at 1,000 pounds.
Most hammerheads are considered harmless and there have been very few attacks recorded against humans.
It follows after similar warnings were put in place on the Menorcan beach of Arenal d’en Castell, where another telltale fin was spotted above the waves last month.
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