Swimming Halted At Hempstead Beaches After Another Shark Sighting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Swimmers were forced out of the water again Saturday afternoon when lifeguards on Long Island spotted another shark.
This time it was seen off Zach's Bay.
The Town of Hempstead made the announcement on Twitter at 1:30 p.m.
*Beach Update (August 1st — 1:30pm)*
— Town of Hempstead (@HempsteadTown) August 1, 2020
Due to a shark sighting by town lifeguards, all swimming is now prohibited at Town of Hempstead ocean beaches from Civic Beach to Lido West beach until further notice.
Swimmers were later allowed back in the water, but only knee deep.
Beaches reopened Saturday morning after at least nine other shark sightings along the South Shore this week.
Nassau County Police have been using helicopters and marine units to search for sharks.
Lido Beach was closed to swimmers just before 4 p.m. Friday, when members of the Town of Hempstead's newly launched Shark Patrol spotted a shark off the beach.
Beach-goers were told to get out of the water until officials could be sure the shark was no longer in the area.
Watch Dan Rice's report from Chopper 2 on Friday:
MORE: Hempstead Launches 'Shark Patrol' After Multiple Shark Sightings Along Long Island's South Shore
The Shark Patrol monitors the waters from Point Lookout to Atlantic Beach four miles out on boats and personal water crafts.