Hadera shark attack: Swimmer feared dead after mauling in front of Israel beach sunbathers

A swimmer has been mauled and is feared dead in a in the. The man was seen struggling in the water just off Hadera, north-west , in front of horrified crowds.

Authorities are conducting a search, according to emergency services and police have closed the beach until further notice. The shark was first seen swimming by paddlers in shallow water with some of the people horrified and rushing to shore while others appeared to be happy to stay and watch the predators.

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It was a short time later that a shark was seen attacking the swimmer by the Orot Rabin power station. The man was later seen thrashing around for a moment, before the sea suddenly turns a bright red colour as he appeared to be bitten. People watched on in horror from the beach as fins and limbs splashed around but there was nothing that they could do.

Reports in Israel also say that the shark attacked a rescue diver searching for the man while the Hadera municipality’s Coastal Department said it is carrying out searches by jet ski to locate the male swimmer. The man's belongings were found on the beach.

Footage uploaded to social media also shows helicopters scanning the waters for the missing man. The incident took place in an area of the beach where swimming was already prohibited said the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

It stated: “The Authority reiterates its warning against interacting with sharks and once again calls on the public to avoid approaching them, as they are protected animals.” Dusky and sandbar sharks, which frequent the area during the period November to May, are not known to normally attack humans.

But in recent days sharks have been attracted to the shores of Hadera and Beit Yannai due to dead fish cast in the sea and there are more generally which has been put down to the warming of the water in the Mediterranean.

According to Israel’s Magen David Adom, the Israel medical emergency response organization, “a report was received at MDA’s 101 emergency dispatch centre in the Sharon region about a man who was bitten by a shark at a beach in Hadera”.

It continued: “Medics and paramedics are currently searching the area," and added: "At this stage, the reportedly injured person has not yet been located.”

A police spokesperson, reported the , said: "A short time ago, police officers from the Hadera station were dispatched following a report from citizens who claimed to have seen a shark attacking a diver in the water.

"We will continue to update according to developments. We call on the public travelling in the area to avoid entering the water and coming into contact with the sharks."

Ziv Demeter, of the Magnus search and rescue organization, told Channel 12 that a body in a diving suit floats to the water’s surface, helping it to be located. But he added: “If he wasn’t in a [diving] suit, this is where the problem starts,” and he pointed out: “The body could be swept away, and locating it could take hours or even days.”

Marine biologist Dr Adi Barash, who heads Sharks in Israel and is a member of the IUCN Shark Experts Group, told the Ynet news site after the incident: “In addition to the fact that the conditions of the sea, including the depth and currents in the water, were not suitable for swimming, a large number of people came to the area, which created gatherings around the sharks — something that should not happen and could lead to attacks.”

Barash cited repeated cases where bathers have pulled the sharks’ tails and even entered the water with children in their arms, to “play” with the predators. On April 17 two female dusky sharks were also seen approaching swimmers at a beach in Israel. Footage showed the two female sharks around 50 metres from people in the water at Beit Yanai Beach.