Thousands ordered out of water after 'aggressive' shark spotted

Thousands of swimmers were ordered out of the water near two Sydney beaches today after life guards spotted an “aggressive” four-metre (13-foot) shark near the shore.

A rescue boat spotted the bronze whaler shark about 500 meters from South Maroubra beach in southern Sydney late in the morning, said senior lifeguard Peter Halcrow.

Halcrow said as many as 15,000 people were ordered out of the water.

One lifeguard on a boat reported that the shark swam up next to the vessel. That lifeguard “said it was really aggressive and four meters (13 feet) long”, Halcrow said.

A second sighting was made late in the afternoon, when an aircraft passed over South Maroubra.

“If a plane can spot it up there, it must be a fair size,” Halcrow said. “We figured it was the same shark.”