Dorset shark scare: Swimmers ordered out of sea at busy beach
RNLI put up red flags - but fail to find large fish
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Swimmers off the coast of Dorset were ordered out of the water when one beachgoer raised the alarm over a suspected shark.
Lifeguards put up red flags to warn people, saying there had been sightings of “large marine wildlife”, witnesses reported.
One beachgoer said an announcement was made over a megaphone to tell people not to swim.
Another, Steve Lutwyche, tweeted: “This is not a drill, I’m on the beach at #Boscombe where the @RNLI have had to red-flag the beach due to reported sightings of a shark.”
The lifeguards searched the area for half an hour but could not find anything, the Bournemouth Echo reported.
The RNLI told the paper: “Lifeguards flagged the beaches for a short period of time to investigate reports received of unidentified marine life.
“We still have no confirmation of what the creature was, and everyone going into the sea should enjoy it but, as always, respect the water and exercise an appropriate level of caution, including keeping around 200 metres from marine life for your and their safety."
The beach was reopened more than half an hour later.
Even if it had been a shark, the danger would have been minimal. Shark attacks are extremely rare, experts say, and people are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by one of the fish.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments