THIS is the terrifying moment a great white shark washed up onto a busy beach in front of horrified onlookers.
The beast could be seen violently thrashing around in gruesome death-throes along the Tweed Coast in northern New South Wales, Australia, as it battled to make it out of shallow waters.
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But the apex predator failed to make it back to sea and was eventually euthanised by specialists from nearby Sea World on the Gold Coast.
Lifeguards had initially spotted the four-metre shark struggling in the water in front of Kingscliff Beach Bowls Club, near the Queensland border, on Monday morning.
Northern NSW Lifeguard coordinator Scott McCartney told the ABC: “We were notified this morning that there was a sick shark swimming close to shore.”
He said the sighting of a great white in such shallow waters was unusual.
“We do see them out the back of the surf but for one to be sick and wash up here this is definitely a first,” he said.
Surfers were quick to paddle ashore after the alarm was raised, leaving a huge crowd gathered on the beach to witness the dramatic event.
The specialists were soon called to the scene but were unable to save the shark’s life.
In a statement, Sea World said: “Sadly, the shark was in a poor condition after beaching and the Sea World veterinary team administered drugs to make it comfortable before it passed away.
“The shark appeared to have underlying health issues with the thrashing behaviour seen in the shallows prior to the beaching not normal for the species.
“While there were no unusual marks on the shark, the NSW Department of Fisheries will conduct a necropsy to try and identify a cause for the beaching.”
Local woman Suzy Martin, who captured stunning footage of the beached shark, initially thought it was a dolphin in trouble.
“It was clearly struggling … It wasn’t well at all,” she told Yahoo News.
Sea World shark expert Siobhan Houlihan added to those claims, saying there was likely “something sinister going on inside” the shark, which appeared to be a mature female.
“She could be diseased or have ingested something she shouldn’t,” she told the ABC.
According to shark tracking service Dorsal Watch, this was the seventh sighting for the Kingscliff area this year.
In October, heart-stopping video caught the moment a great white shark leapt out of the water just feet away from screaming boaters.
The enormous beast was seen sinking its teeth into a large tuna fish, leaving the churned-up water filled with blood, in astonishing footage filmed off the coast of Australia.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
And incredible video captured the world’s toughest great white shark covered in scars and bite marks after years of explosive underwater clashes.
The huge predator showed off its battle scars while swimming near the Neptune Islands in South Australia and is known as the top dog in the area.
Great White Shark facts
Everything you need to know about the world’s largest predatory fish.
- Great White Sharks are usually 4.5m (15ft) in length
- They are a blue-grey colour on the top of the bodies
- Strong bodies and powerful tails help the marine mammals swim as fast as 35mph
- They stay close to the surface of the water, so they can capture their prey more easily
- Most of the world’s Great White Sharks live off the coast of South Africa
- Their sense of smell is so good that the sharks can detect the scent of blood from three miles away
- Great White Sharks have a whopping 230 teeth in their mouth – making just one bite fatal
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