Newport Beach Lifeguards Wrangle Shark With Bare Hands

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Beachgoers quickly crowded around to witness a thresher shark thrashing in ankle-deep water Friday as the shark washed ashore. Lifeguards responded immediately by wrangling the shark onshore with their bare hands and ordering all swimmers out of the water, the Orange County Register reported.

The shark, located near Balboa Pier, was dragged onto the sand and later euthanized humanely by Animal Control. There were no injuries despite the packed beach, ABC7 News reported.

"It was rolling around onshore," Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Brent Jacobsen told the Orange County Register.

The shark was 4-feet long and appeared to be lethargic.

Hendrik Nollens, who heads research and science conservation at Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, an organization that rescues and rehabilitates marine mammals, told the OC Register that the shark was likely in ill health.

"The fact that the lifeguards could grab it by their hands means it was probably on its way out," Nollens said.

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