TERRIFYING footage shows the moment two huge sharks stalked the shallows of a popular beach in Ireland, leaving onlookers in awe.
Beachgoers cooling off from the sizzling sunshine last week spotted two large fins circling the shores in Keem Bay on County Mayo’s Achill Island.
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The footage, posted on social media, captured the basking sharks closely following each other, just feet away from swimmers.
Jokers added a caption “this is like a scene from Jaws”.
Although stunned, most people managed to keep their cool and remained in the water as the sharks swam past.
One child can be heard screaming “oh my God!” on the clip – which has been viewed on TikTok more than a quarter of a million times.
The plankton-eating pair are believed to be an adult and a youngster because of the difference in their fin sizes.
Fergal O’Shea, who witnessed the sharks making waves on Achill Beach, told Newstalk: “I don’t think people were necessarily scared of it, it’s more of a fascination really.
SWIM WITH SHARKS
“There were a few people in their kayaks out in the water as well, there were a lot of kids shouting and screaming, but people were more fascinated to see them.”
Despite being the second-largest shark in the world, basking sharks are harmless to humans and are known as slow-moving surface feeders.
They can grow to over ten metres long, which sometimes sparks panic among beachgoers who encounter them unexpectedly.
Keem Bay was previously a hotspot for the species before the demise of the shark fishing trade in the 1980s – but many sightings of basking sharks have been reported in recent years near the UK and Ireland.
One frequented Keem Bay every day for a month in 2019 as it fed, just a stone’s throw from the shoreline.
A 16ft shark was recently seen swimming next to a boat in Portloe Bay in Cornwall, before disappearing into the waters.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature deems the basking shark to be a vulnerable species.
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Source: The Sun
