Terrifying moment 7ft shark swims at speed towards Gran Canaria shore – with beach forced to close to bathing after sparking fear among tourists and locals

This is the harrowing moment a 2m shark swims onto the coast of Gran Canaria, with the beach now closed to swimming, amid terror for locals and tourists.

Youngsters could be heard screaming as the big fish approached the shoreline at high speed with its telltale fin sticking out of the water.

Police rushed to Melenara Beach on the island’s east coast after the alarm went off around 5pm yesterday.

Rescuers had earlier helped clear the sea and the red flag was raised shortly afterwards.

Footage from the scene showed young people running for safety as the shark swam towards the shoreline before returning at the last minute after wandering in the water.

Another man was pictured carrying a child in his arms from the safety of the sand as he watched it come towards them.

A council spokesperson for Telde Council, the municipality that covers Melenara beach, said: ‘It is important that people remain calm and follow the instructions of lifeguards and authorities.’

A young girl in the water when the shark appeared told a local TV station: ‘The lifeguard started blowing his whistle and signaling for everyone to get out of the water. I looked around and saw his fin.”

A friend added: ‘We saw the fin which was about eight inches out of the water and we started moving back towards the beach as fast as we could.’

A search for the shark in the area using jet skis failed to find it.

It was unclear this morning whether the red flag would remain in place today.

The fish was locally identified as a hammerhead shark, which can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, although smaller sizes are more common.

Most hammerhead shark species are considered harmless to humans and few attacks have been recorded, but they are aggressive hunters.

Last month, tourists and locals were banned from entering the sea after a shark sighting off a Menorcan beach.

Coastguards raised the red flag and called out the Spanish equivalent of 999 after the fin of a 2-metre blue shark – also known as tinterora – was spotted above the waterline.

On May 6, the alarm was raised at around 3:30 p.m. on the popular Arenal d’en Castell beach, the same place where another shark was spotted in June 2018 when swimmers were also banned from entering the water all afternoon.

Last month’s Tinterora sighting was described at the time as the first so far this year near a Costa beach.

Blue sharks rarely attack humans, but have been involved in several biting incidents, four of which are believed to have ended fatally.

A blue shark was blamed for an attack on a holidaymaker in Elche near Alicante in July 2016.

The 40-year-old victim was rushed to hospital and stitched up for a wound in his hand.

First aid workers described the bite as ‘large’ and said the man had emerged from the sea with blood pouring from the wound.

In June last year, an adult blue shark measuring 2.20 meters caused panic at the Costa Blanca beach of Aguamarina in Orihuela Costa, south of Alicante.

Swimmers were filmed trying to run through waist-high water to safety as it approached the shoreline.

Lifeguards blew their whistles to warn locals and holidaymakers of the big fish and urge them to leave the sea as quickly as possible.

One woman, believed to be an elderly person, who was seen being helped out of the water is said to have had a panic attack.

The shark washed up dead the next day at La Caleta beach in Cabo Roig, a few kilometers away.

The same day it emerged that the same shark species had been spotted in the port of Ciutadella in Menorca.