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dorsal fin of a tiger shark (icon image)
Photo: Franco Banfi / Nature Picture Library / IMAGO
The attack took place in an area monitored by lifeguards, and drones are also used there again and again to search the water for predatory fish.
Despite this, an Australian tourist was killed by a shark in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia on Sunday.
The 59-year-old was swimming in the sea near a swimming platform about 150 meters from the beach in the capital Noumea, according to authorities, when the shark attacked and bit him several times.
Two sailors who were nearby brought the man back to shore in their boat.
There, rescue workers tried in vain to revive him.
The man had bite marks on one leg and both arms, prosecutor Yves Dupas told the AFP news agency.
At the time of the shark attack, crowds were bathing off Château Royal Beach to the south of the Pacific archipelago's capital.
Panic set in, people rushed out of the water.
Beaches closed - two sharks spotted
Mayor Sonia Lagarde ordered most beaches closed.
Drones were then deployed to aerially track tiger and bull sharks in the area.
It is not yet clear which shark species was involved in the attack.
However, tiger and bull sharks are among the few species that have been shown to have attacked humans in the past.
Two sharks were sighted before the search was called off at nightfall, police said.
According to the prosecutor, an investigation should clarify the exact circumstances of the attack.
Last month, a 49-year-old swimmer was seriously injured by a shark, also near Château-Royal beach.
A surfer who was attacked by a shark a few days later survived the attack unscathed.
New Caledonia is about 1200 kilometers east of Australia in the Pacific.
According to a Florida Museum of Natural History ranking of places with the most shark attacks, New Caledonia ranks 13th in the world. Despite recent headlines, the risk of a shark attack is negligible.
jok/AFP
