Bathers planning to go for a dip at the popular but notorious Second Beach in Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape have been warned to exercise caution after two sharks were spotted on the beach on Sunday.
Although authorities were unable to identify what type of sharks they were‚ Port St Johns mayor Lindelwa Rolobile said they were worried about the turn of events as they were expecting more people to flock to Second Beach in the build-up to Christmas.
The sharks were reportedly spotted by an Emergency Medical Services helicopter which had been despatched to help look for two bathers who drowned while swimming in the beach on Sunday morning.
The body of one of the victims‚ a 16-year-old male‚ was found washed ashore around 8am in the morning. Port St Johns police spokeswoman Captain Nozuko Handile said the body had been bitten by a shark.
Eastern Cape provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo however reiterated that the victim did not die from a shark attack.
"It will be hard to tell people not to go into the water but we urge them to exercise extreme caution‚" he said.
- DispatchLIVE
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