A swimmer is missing as a result of an extremely rare -coated shark attack off the northern coasts of Israel on Monday.
This happened in the Hadera Sea, about 40 km (25 miles) north of Tel Aviv.
The incident was observed by residents of Olga Beach, who can be heard shouting in shock in images published on social networks.
The sharks are known to come together where lukewarm water is released by a local power plant, and especially at this time of the year, but they are generally harmless.
There have been no attacks of fatal sharks recorded in the waters off Israel since the country’s foundation in 1948.
The police closed the beach and a search is underway for the missing man.
In the video shared online, a man can be seen at a distance from what seems to be a few hundred meters at sea. He is seen rushing while people on the beach cry that he is attacked.
“I was in the water, I saw blood and there were cries,” said a witness, Eliya Motai, at Ynet News Site.
“I was a few meters from the shore,” he said. “It’s terrifying. We were here yesterday and saw the Sharks surround us.”
The dark and Sanbar sharks are known to regroup in the region, which is dominated by the power plant of Orot Rabin, the largest in Israel.
They are attracted by water warmed by the plant and by fish which are transported there from a neighboring stream.
Monday’s incident is only the fourth documented shark attack in the history of Israel, according to Ynet.
