A man has died after a shark attack off the Mediterranean coast of Israel, police and the victim’s wife confirmed Wednesday.
The remains, discovered after a two-day search, were identified as those of the victim, whom Israeli media named as Barak Tzach, a man in his 40s and a father of four.
The attack happened in an area known to attract both sharks and beachgoers. A group of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks frequents the waters, drawing curious onlookers who often venture close to the animals. Conservation groups have previously raised concerns about the proximity of humans to the sharks, urging authorities to implement measures to separate people from the marine predators.
In recent days, the waters drew large crowds who were seen swimming with the sharks. Some tugged on their tails and threw them food. Authorities condemned the behavior and have issued warnings not to approach the sharks. Swimming is banned at the beach, but bathers enter the water regardless.
In a Facebook post, a woman identified by Israeli media as Tzach’s wife, said he had entered the waters with snorkeling gear and an underwater camera. It was not his first time swimming in this part of the sea, she said.
“Barak entered the water to dive and document the sharks, not to feed them or play with them,” wrote Sarit Tzach. She said a fisherman who was with her husband said he did not touch or feed them.
When the sharks approached too closely, she said, he used the stick holding his camera to “gently distance them.” The fisherman then called Tzach back to the shore and as he slowly returned he was attacked, Sarit Tzach wrote.
It was just the third recorded shark attack in Israel, according to Yigael Ben-Ari, head of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s marine rangers. One person was killed in an attack in the 1940s, he said.
Police and rescue teams held a two-day search after the attack and they said they were continuing to look for remains. Israeli authorities closed the beach and nearby ones as well after the attack.
Israelis flocked in large numbers to the beach during a weeklong holiday, sharing the waters with a dozen or more sharks.
Dusky sharks can grow to 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh about 350 kilograms (750 pounds). Sandbar sharks are smaller, growing to about 2.5 meters (8 feet) and 100 kilograms (220 pounds).
One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming right up to bathers in thigh-deep water.
“What a huge shark!” the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. “Whoa! He’s coming toward us!”
“Don’t move!” he implores a boy standing nearby, who replies: “I’m leaving.”
The man then asks: “What, are you afraid of the sharks?”
