Horror as 7ft shark with teeth dripping blood washes up on Costa tourist beach… sparking fears over what beast killed it
TOURISTS were left horrified after a 7ft shark with teeth dripping blood washed up on a popular beach.
The 440lb beast, which was described as “disorientated”, could not be saved as brave beachgoers attempted to push it back into the sea.
The terrifying ordeal took place at the Playa del Rihuete beach in Puerto de Mazarron in south east Spain at around 10pm on Monday after the animal drifted too close to the shore.
According to local media, the predator had previously been spotted around the area just a few days before its death.
Initial reports claimed the animal to be a blue shark, with others stating it was a great white shark.
Even authorities struggled to identify the species at a Town Hall meeting on Monday, MurciaToday reported.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, however, a vet took samples of the beast, which is now believed to be a mako shark.
Despite inhabiting offshore temperate and tropical seas worldwide, the species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It can also grow up to 13 feet in length and weigh 570kg.
Due to the one that washed up being half of that size, it could have been a juvenile or young adult.
According to the report from MurciaToday, the shark was taken away by to an authorised rubbish dump.
It comes after terrifying footage revealed the moment a deadly tiger shark darted out of nowhere into shallow water in a frenzied hunt for prey.
The animal briefly beached itself on the sand, just feet away from beachgoers at Monkey Mia beach on the Peron Peninsula in Australia.
And a boy was mauled by a shark at a luxury Bahamas resort where tourists can come face-to-face with the beasts underwater.
The 10-year-old was attacked at the Atlantis “walk with sharks adventure” as witnesses said they saw a “pool of blood” in the water.
Mako sharks: fact file
THE mako shark, also known as the shortfin mako shark, blue pointer, or bonito shark, is a large mackerel shark.
It can grow up to 13 feet in length and reach a total weight of 570kg.
With top speeds of 45mph, the shortfin mako is the fastest shark in the world – and one of the fastest fishes on the planet.
Despite inhabiting offshore temperate and tropical seas worldwide, the species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The shortfin mako shark primarily lives near the surface of the ocean.
It is not to be confused, however, with the longfin mako shark, which is found in warmer offshore waters in places such as New Zealand and Maine.
With the mako shark rarely frequenting shallow beaches, attacks on humans are almost unheard of.
Last year, however, a man named Martin Richardson was bitten five times by a Mako shark off the coast of Egypt and left floating in a pool of his own blood before rescuers saved him.