Jaws-dropping: Sunbathers to the rescue as great white shark is stranded on beach

Beachgoers helped a great white shark which got stranded on a beach stay alive until rescuers arrived to drag it back into the water. They stepped in after the 7ft (2m) male got stuck near South Beach on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod peninsula as the tide went out. People on the beach helped keep the shark wet by splashing it with buckets of water until rescuers attached a line to its rear caudal fin. The shark, which was tagged by a state shark scientist, was then pulled back into open waters in an operation that lasted around an hour.

The shark was stuck there for a while in the sand, so then people got buckets and were trying keep it wet so it could continue to breathe. I was a little afraid, but I could tell it wasn’t moving anytime soon because the shore was going way out.

Beachgoer Isabelle Hegland

Witnesses said the young shark beached itself chasing after a seagull. Harbourmaster Stuart Smith said about 40 people were crowded around the shark when he arrived and it appeared dead. Great white sharks are listed as “vulnerable” (one step better than endangered) by the World Wildlife Fund because humans hunt them for food and sport.

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