Spanish police share aerial footage of hammerhead shark off Gran Canaria after sighting closes tourist beach

Spanish police have shared footage of a hammerhead shark of the coast of Gran Canaria after a sighting closed a tourist beach popular with British holidaymakers.

The busy Meleara Beach in the town of Telde was closed on Saturday after swimmers made the discovery of the two-metre-long shark near the shore.

Police shut the beach for two days so that search teams on jet skis could attempt to find the shark.

A second nearby beach, Salinetas Beach, was also closed after the shark’s fin was spotted, local media reported.

In two videos shared by Spanish police, the shark can be seen swimming in the water, with police warning: “New hammerhead shark sighting.”

In another drone-filmed video clip, the shark could be seen just below the waves.

Footage online showed alarmed bathers rushing to the shore and getting out as the shark approaches the beach.

However no one was hurt and the shark quickly made its way to deeper waters, suggesting it had been pursuing a fish or other prey.

The hammerhead is one of several shark species that live in waters around Gran Canaria, but they are rarely seen close to shore.

Melenara Beach was closed until Monday before officials gave the greenlight for swimmers to go back in the water.

In 2019 a hammerhead was spotted off British waters for the first time, prompting fears about the impact of climate change on ocean temperatures.

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