More than 1,000 Massachusetts beach-goers were ordered out of the water after a State Police helicopter reported seeing a 14-foot great white shark swimming just 75 yards from shore — just outside the buoys that separate the swimmers’ area from the open ocean.
The sighting was at Duxbury Beach, a normally quiet spot that doesn’t get much shark action, said Amy Mahler, a spokeswoman for the Department of Fish and Game, China Topix reported. Officials have seen dozens of sharks in the vicinity over the summer, but none this close to shore, she said.
A scientist from the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries analyzed pictures and videos of the shark and confirmed it was a great white. This is the second great white spotted off the Massachusetts coast in two days.
State police watched it from the air and sent two boats to try and drive it from the beach. Meanwhile, harbormasters from Duxbury and the neighboring towns of Plymouth and Marshfield joined with U.S. Coast Guard officials to patrol the area for other sharks, China Topix said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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