BEACH PANIC
Dramatic moment terrified tourists flee ‘shark’ at Spanish beach as fin cuts through water
BEACHGOERS rushed out of the water after spotting a fin ominously emerging above the waves at a Spanish beach.
Locals and tourists were seen running up and down the sand to alert swimmers as they feared a shark was about to launch an attack.
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The mystery sea creature stalked the shore of the beach in La Antilla, a small resort town in the municipality of Lepe in southwest Spain.
Panicked sun worshippers were seen looking on in horror in dramatic footage as the animal approached on Tuesday.
Its fearsome fin hovered above the shallow waters while it splashed around just metres away from swimmers and youngsters on paddle boards.
The creature loitered for just over a minute as a crowd of people gathered on the beach before it headed back out to sea.
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But its explosive appearance inevitably caused a stir among locals who were desperate to find out what it was.
Most people assumed it was a shark due to the huge spike in sightings off the Spanish coast throughout the year.
Local police described the surprise guest on the shoreline as a Cuvier's beaked whale, the world’s deepest-diving mammal.
They encouraged residents to "stay calm" and put the shark rumours to bed in a social media post last night.
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It read: "It’s not a shark and you’re not going to see Steven Spielberg on the shoreline with his camera. It’s not a killer whale either.
"The animal that has paid us a visit appears to be a , which holds the record for deep-sea dives but is very sensitive to sonar.
"Possibly it’s disorientated and about to end up stranded."
Some Spanish reports today still described the sea creature as a killer whale, despite cops insisting they have identified the real culprit.
The Cuvier’s beaked whale is one of the most frequently spotted beaked whales despite its deep-water habitat.
The master divers have been known to plunge to depths of nearly 1.9 miles and they sport a small curved dorsal fin.
The species also hold the record for the longest dive.
In 2014, scientists documented one dive in which a whale stayed underwater for more than two hours.
That record was later shattered by another Cuvier’s beaked whale, that went three hours and 42 minutes without coming up for air.
Spanish beaches have been swarmed by sea creatures in recent weeks, forcing some to temporarily close.
Last month, families were seen frantically running through waist-high water as a shark swam up beside them off a Costa Blanca beach.
Days later, a tintorera or blue shark sparked panic at Aguamarina beach in Orihuela Costa south of Alicante.
A shark was then spotted gliding through the water off a beach in Ibiza - marking the fifth sighting in Spain in just a week.
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Terrifying footage later emerged of another shark nearing the sands in Malaga, forcing Brits to flee to the shore.
The Patalavaca beach in Mogan, Gran Canaria, was then closed after two hammerhead sharks were spotted prowling near the coast.
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