Latest news with #YNetNews
Sky News AU
22-04-2025
- Sky News AU
Diver believed to have been killed in shark attack filmed by helpless beachgoers on Israel coast: ‘They're biting me!'
Terrifying video shows a diver being attacked by a shark as horrified beachgoers watched on helplessly. The unidentified diver is assumed dead after the attack at a beach in Israel that has been drawing tourists to see the sharks — with one video showing one swimming right up to a child standing in the water. The attacked diver was heard screaming, 'They're biting me!' before being dragged further out to sea off the city of Hadera on Monday, according to The Times of Israel. 'They're eating him, eating the man!' one terrified witness cried, according to disturbing video circulating on social media. 'Wow, wow, he's with the shark, he's fighting him,' another said in the dramatic clip. 'I was in the water, I saw blood and there were screams,' one witness, Eliya Motai, told Ynet on Monday. Another witness, Shlomo, said he and his friends are all now 'traumatized.' 'We were just walking down to the water when we saw someone flailing in the sea — fighting a shark and trying to get away. The shark lunged at him. It was hard to watch,' he said. 'It was chilling. We literally saw the shark attack him … It could've been me.' Human remains were later discovered nearly 24 hours later on Tuesday after officials shut down the beach and launched a massive search in the area with divers, jetskis, and helicopters. However, officials have yet to confirm that they are the missing diver. 'At this point, I am able to say that there were several findings that were sent for [forensic] examination, and we will await the professional results,' police spokesman Aryeh Doron said. Additional information about the victim was not immediately available. Distraught family members were seen rushing to the beach after the grim discovery was made, according to Israel's YNet News. Shark attacks are incredibly rare in Israel, according to local experts. The exact breed of shark was not immediately known, however, marine life experts told YNet it was likely a dusky shark or a sandbar shark, which are typically harmless to humans. Dusky sharks can reach an impressive 13 feet long and weigh 750 pounds, whereas sandbar sharks are smaller, growing to about 8 feet and 220 pounds. Yigael Ben-Ari, head of marine rangers at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said this would be just the third shark attack recorded in Israel in the last 80 years. One person was killed in an attack in the 1940s. Endangered dusky and sandbar sharks have been lurking in the area along the Mediterranean coast for years, and this week, Israeli tourists who flocked to beaches during the holiday week. One video shared by Israeli media before the attack showed a massive shark swimming right up to swimmers in the shallows. 'What a huge shark!' the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. 'Whoa! He's coming toward us!' 'Don't move!' he implores a child standing nearby, who replies: 'I'm leaving.' The man then asks: 'What, are you afraid of the sharks?' With Post wires Originally published as Diver believed to have been killed in shark attack filmed by helpless beachgoers on Israel coast: 'They're biting me!'
Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Daily Mirror
Israel shark attack: Beasts had 'circled beach for hours' as locals 'not surprised' by mauling
Sharks were reportedly spotted in the water hours before the attack off Hadera, north-west Israel, with locals offering different theories as to what lured the powerful beasts so close to shore Beachgoers who witnessed a horrific shark attack have said they are 'not surprised' after seeing fins circling swimmers for hours beforehand. Human remains believed to belong to a missing diver were discovered today after a rare shark attack unfolded off the coast of Hadera, north-west Israel on Monday. Footage said to be of the incident was shared online in the aftermath, showing a person thrashing around in the sea before the water around them turns a dark red colour. Eyewitnesses on shore are heard shouting and screaming in horror. Now, some of people who were on the beach at the time have said they saw the sharks in the water hours before the attack unfolded - and claimed that local fishermen hurting the sea mammals could have tempted them closer to shore. One eyewitness told Y Net News: "It's no wonder they attacked. There are fishermen here all the time and their hooks injure the sharks, causing them to bleed. That's why they went after people." Another witness told Israeli media that they were walking down to the beach when they heard a man in the sea shouting "I'm bitten, I'm bitten" and waving his hands in the air. He "disappeared" under the waves a few minutes later, they added. Police today began work to confirm whether human remains found in the sea belonged to the missing man, reported to be a 40-year-old father of four. Deputy Fire Chief Doron Almashali said: "After a day and a half of intensive effort, we have found what appears to be part of the missing person. Naturally, these findings must undergo thorough examinations by the Israel Police and the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. "We will continue working to confirm that we have indeed found the missing individual. We conducted our search pattern based on careful analysis of underwater currents, and it was precisely in that area where the remains were discovered. While some local people have blamed fishing practices for the sharks coming closer to the beach, another theory surrounds the local power station. Sandbar and dusky sharks have reportedly been sighted around this site for decades, which has an outflow that releases hot water from turbines into the Hadera river. On Monday, the Society for the Protection of Nature charity claimed it had called on Israeli government four years ago to restrict human activity around the stretch of coast next to the power station, with large numbers spotted int he area between October and May. It said in a statement: "Every winter, a unique phenomenon occurs in Israel in which sharks and rays gather at the outlet of the warm waters of the power stations. In the case of such a fascinating and public-attracting phenomenon, it would be appropriate to take conservation and safety measures for the public, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area.' It is not known which type of shark species attacked the diver. Shark attacks are very rare in Israel, with no recorded fatalities since the state was founded in the 1940s. Other than an incident in 2013 involving a shark trapped inside a fish cage attacking fishermen, the last recorded shark attack came when the region was under British Mandate, when a police officer was injured off the coast of Tel Aviv.
