Terrifying moment shark thrashes towards swimmers sparking tourists to run out of the water in Gran Canaria

A dramatic video has captured the moment a shark charges towards tourists at a beach in Gran Canaria.

The footage shows the beast, accompanied by what appears to be a second shark, slicing through the waves towards screaming beachgoers on Monday evening. 

The terrifying incident, which was shared on TikTok, took place at a beach in Las Palmas, a popular holiday destination in Spain‘s Canary Islands.

In the footage, the shark’s razor-sharp fin can be seen slicing through the waves as it heads directly towards the shore, causing beachgoers to scream in fear. 

The shark moves rapidly towards shallower waters, with the cries of alarm from people on the sand audible in the background.

One young woman can be seen sprinting away from the approaching shark as it comes incredibly close to the shore, with its fin and tail clearly visible just yards from the sand. 

The shark eventually turns around and swims back out to sea, much to the relief of the onlookers. 

The incident occurred on Monday evening and highlights the increasing number of shark sightings at popular Spanish beaches this year. 

Several beaches across the coasts of mainland Spain and its surrounding islands have been closed over the summer as a precaution due to the sightings. 

In May, tourists and locals fearing for their safety were banned from going into the sea due to a shark sighting off the Arenal d’en Castell beach in Menorca. 

Coastguards hoisted the red flag and called emergency services after the fin of a seven-foot blue shark was seen above the water line, perilously close to the coast.

Shocking video showed the shark patrolling the water near a boat, just off the coast of the beach around 3.30pm.

The shark sighting is believed to be the first so far this year near a Costa beach. 

One young woman can be seen sprinting away from the approaching shark as it comes incredibly close to the shore, with its fin and tail clearly visible just yards from the sand

The shark eventually turns around and swims back out to sea, much to the relief of the onlookers

The incident occurred on Monday evening and highlights the increasing number of shark sightings at popular Spanish beaches this year

In June, harrowing footage shows the moment a 7ft shark swims towards a Gran Canaria shore – with the beach forced to closed to bathing amid terror for locals and tourists.

Youngsters could be heard screaming as the big fish approached the shoreline at speed with its telltale fin sticking out of the water.

Police raced to Melenara Beach on the island’s east coast after the alarm was sounded at about 5pm on June 15. 

Lifeguards had previously helped clear the sea and the red flag was hoisted soon afterwards.

Footage from the scene showed youngsters running for safety as the shark swam towards the shoreline before turning back at the last minute after thrashing around in the water.