The incident occurred in the Mediterranean waters of the popular resort town of Kemer, which is located in the Turkish province of Antalya. Vacationers saw a large fin in the water off the coast – right in the bathing area.
Mistaking it for a shark’s fin and succumbing to panic, the tourists ran ashore, and some of them began to throw stones at the “predator”. In light of recent tragic events in Egypt, this is not surprising. Recall that a man-eating shark tore to pieces a 23-year-old boy in front of his father in the popular Egyptian resort of Hurghada.
One of the witnesses of the incident captured the general panic on the camera of his phone. The video posted on the Internet caused a heated discussion among users. The footage shows how people in the water noticed a fish with a fin swimming right off the shore, and rushed to the shore screaming.
Later it became known that the “shark” that frightened the vacationers turned out to be a spear fish that does not pose a danger to people.
The spearfish has a characteristic high and sharp fin – it is also dorsal, it is precisely its fin that tourists can mistakenly take for the fin of a bloodthirsty predator. It is elongated and has an arrow-like shape, resembling a spear or sword. The dorsal fin plays a key role in maintaining balance, maneuvering and swimming at high speed.
As for the shark that mauled a tourist in Hurghada, it will be transferred to the museum.