Hadera, Israel – Israeli police toured the coast of the Mediterranean In search of a person who apparently was attacked by a shark in an area where the sighting of marine predators is usual.
Sharks pieces and sandboxes, both in danger of extinction, have swam near the area for years, attracting viewers who even approach themwhich has warned of conservation groups.
Ecologist groups say that their warnings have not been treated. The police and rescue teams launched a search along the coast after the reports that a shark attacked a person on a beach near the city of Hadera. The Fire and Rescue Authority of Israel He announced Tuesday afternoon that they had found remains of a body, which was taken to the coroner for identification.
On Tuesday, the beach was closed while search equipment used submarine boats and equipment to look for man. His identity was not known at the moment, and the Israeli press informed that he had swimmed with sharks.
Many Israelis went to the beach for the one -week holiday, sharing the waters with a dozen or more sharks. Some threw off the sharks fins, while others threw fish to eat. Trete sharks can grow up to 13 feet long and weigh around 750 pounds. Areneros are smaller, up to about 8 feet and 220 pounds.
Yigael Ben-Ari, head of marine rangers of the Parks and Nature Authority of Israel, said that man did not behave around the sharks. But he said that the public should know that they should not enter the water when there are sharks present and should not touch or play with them.
A video shared by the Israeli media showed a shark swimming just to the bathers in waters to the thigh.
“What a great shark!” Exclaims the man who films, while the shark approaches him. “Whoa! He is coming towards us!”
“Do not move!”, The man implores a child who is close, who replies: “I am leaving.”
The man then asks: “What are you afraid of sharks?”
The behavior, part of which was witnessed by a photographer from The Associated Press two days before the attack, contradicted the Council of the Parks Authority.
“Like any wild animal, shark behavior can be unpredictable,” the authority said in a statement.
This would be the third shark attack registered in Israelaccording to Ben-Ari. A person died in an attack in the 1940s.
The area, where warm water released by a nearby energy plant flows to the sea, has attracted dozens of sharks between October and May. Ben-Ai said that swimming is prohibited in the area, but people get into the water anyway.
“It would have been appropriate to take measures to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area,” said the Society for the protection of nature in Israel (SPNI) In a statement.
The environmental group added that fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkeling practitioners crossed dangerously with a wild animal that “is not used to being surrounded by multitude of people.”
The SPNI considered that more measures were needed to prevent similar incidents, such as designating a safe area from where people can see sharks without swimming near them.
The Israeli authorities closed the beach on Monday and other nearby and remained closed on Tuesday.