Tay St Beach in Mount Maunganui was quickly evacuated after a two-metre shark was spotted in the water.
Tay St Beach in Mount Maunganui was quickly evacuated after a two-metre shark was spotted in the water.
A Mount Maunganui beach was quickly evacuated this afternoon after a two-metre shark was spotted in the water.
Safeswim posted red flag warnings on its website at about 3pm, saying swimming is not advised at Tay St Beach, Ōmanu Beach and Papamoa Beach due to sharks.
An eyewitness told the Herald about 50 people jumped out of the water at Tay St “pretty quickly” after the sighting.
“Lifeguards cleared the beach ... [the] swimming flags were taken down.”
A spokesman for the Whiritoa Lifeguard Service told the Herald there had been three separate shark sightings close to the shore and the beach had been closed intermittently.
A 2m shark was spotted in the shallows of Ōhope Beach on the same day.
Chris Service was in the water with friends, teaching his kids to surf, when a large shark swam right between them.
“My mates freaked out, his kid practically ran on water to get out,” Service told the Herald.
Not wanting to panic his kids, Service slowly walked to shore with them before telling them about the shark once they were on land.
Service then put his drone up to see if he could find the shark.
