Jersey shark sighting 'pretty crazy'
BBCPeople in Jersey have described seeing a large shark in St Ouen's Bay as "crazy" and "exciting".
RNLI lifeguards told people to get out of the water after a dark grey shark, about 10ft to 12ft (3m to 3.6m) long was spotted on Saturday morning. They then red-flagged the beach while they checked the area.
Surf instructor Jesse Heddercott, 16, was in the sea teaching people to surf when lifeguards announced the news.
He said: "Nothing like this has ever happened in Jersey before, so it's pretty crazy."
Heddercott said a lifeguard had been paddling on a rescue board when he saw something swim under him.
"We thought it was just a tuna, or something, but then another lifeguard spotted it and it was confirmed to be - probably - a shark.
"They red-flagged the beach and we all had to get out."
His colleague at Jersey Surf School, Bob Powell, said he had never seen the sea empty so quickly.
"It was as if Jaws [of the 1975 shark movie] had come down," he joked.
It is not known what species of shark was seen, but Heddercott thought it would not have been anything dangerous, and said it would have been "more scared of us than we are of them".
A spokesperson for the coastguard said the animal was about 130ft (40m) from the shore.
People were not allowed back in the water until an hour later after lifeguards had checked the area.
Experts previously said that shark attacks were still very rare relative to the higher rates of people using the water for leisure.
Emma Terri, who works at beach café The Line Up, said it was "exciting", and that she had not seen anything like it before.
She said: "A lot of people didn't realise Jersey had sharks.
"There was a lot of chit-chat, but the kids were really good. They all came out of the sea really quickly and ended up on the beach."
Some members of the public at St Ouen's Bay on Monday were surprised by the news.
Jayne Hiron was swimming in the bay around the time the shark was spotted.
She said: "When I thought about it afterwards, I thought: 'Oh gosh, it could have been right where I was.'
"It wouldn't put me off because I love swimming in the sea and I never go out too deep."
Craig O'Neil was watching his son learn to surf near El Tico, and said the lifeguards were making sure everyone was safe again this week.
He said it was the first time he had heard of anything like this.
"[I have been] coming down here since I was a small boy... the waters are heating up, tunas are coming in, so that's probably what the sharks are after I think."
Stephen Asque said he was not too surprised, but thought the lifeguards made the right call to get people out of the water.
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