Christchurch shark sighting: Swimmers evacuate Waimairi Beach as city swelters for third straight day

A shark has been spotted at a busy Christchurch beach.

A shark has reportedly been sighted at a busy Canterbury beach as the region swelters during its third consecutive day with temperatures above 30C.

Waimairi Surf Lifesaving Club said there was a shark sighting this morning at its popular Christchurch beach.

A surf lifesaving contest was underway at the time and everyone, including swimmers, was urged to evacuate the water.

The Canterbury Championships was suspended before they resumed under safety protocols.

Surf Lifesaving NZ then followed the shark with a drone until it was out of the area.

Waimairi Beach was emptied after the spotting, as this photo from Vicki Buck shows.

There are now people back swimming at the beach as “it’s safe”, according to Waimairi Surf Lifesaving Club.

But a safety warning has been posted on the Safe Swim website which says: “Sharks sighted, exercise caution.”

Former Christchurch mayor Vicki Buck posted on Facebook about the shark this morning – along with a photo captioned: “Waimairi Beach - where there are huge numbers of people and a shark apparently decided it needed to come swim here so no swimming at the moment.”

As of 2pm today, MetService said the temperature in Christchurch was 32C.

It comes after the mercury hit 32.2C on Thursday and 33.6C yesterday.

If it reaches above 30C tomorrow, it will be the first time since MetService records began that the city will have recorded four straight days with temperatures in the 30Cs.

The city’s beaches stretching along Pegasus Bay have been packed with residents heading for the sand and surf.