State Police Spot 'Large White Shark' Near Swimmers; Wellfleet Beach Evacuated
WELLFLEET (CBS) -- The Massachusetts State Police tweeted Tuesday afternoon that its air wing observed a "large white shark" near swimmers at Newcomb Hollow Beach by the Wellfleet and Truro line.
The white shark ???? was spotted near Newcomb Hollow Beach at the #Wellfleet #Truro line. https://t.co/c5EoSR1BdV
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) July 30, 2019
The agency alerted local authorities and the beach was evacuated, according to the Wellfleet Beach Department.
"Use caution swimming out there!" police tweeted.
It's not clear how close the shark got to swimmers or the shore. A little more than an hour later, SkyEye flew over Newcomb Hollow and spotted two possible sharks not far from shore. One of them can be seen in the video above.
Photos taken on the beach show swimmers staying out of the water after the sighting.
Lifeguards rush to get dozens of swimmers at Newcomb Hollow in Wellfleet out of the water after a possible shark sighting. Mass. State Police also checking the water. (Full use permission w/ ???? credit: Chris Conte) pic.twitter.com/Y1FpztVKim
— Chris Conte (@chrisconte) July 30, 2019
A shark was spotted eating a seal off a Truro beach last week. Last September a 26-year-old man was killed in a rare shark attack at Newcomb Hollow Beach.
A separate shark sighting also temporarily closed Edgartown's South Beach on Martha's Vineyard Tuesday afternoon.