A “unique phenomenon” could have drawn sharks to an Israeli coastline, where they fatally attacked a father-of-four while he was having an afternoon dip. Barak Tzach, 40, seeimngly ignored warnings about swimming at Olga Beach in Hadera, near Tel Aviv, when he entered the water armed with an underwater camera and snorkelling gear after a long day at work.
Swimming has been banned at the seaside spot for years due to its shark infestation, and locals have attracted criticism for feeding and pulling the tails of the shiver and dusky predators spotted in the area. Beachgoes often frequently flout the rules to swim alongside the sharks, The Mirror reports, and Mr Tzach had also reportedly previously done so and managed to escape unharmed. This time, however, was different, with the fish getting dangerously close to him and nudging his equipment, prompting onlookers to urge him to swim back to safety onshore.
As he tried to make his way back to the beach, the 40-year-old was fatally attacked by the creatures, with witnesses hearing his chilling cry of “I’m bitten, I’m bitten”, before the water around him turned red and he was pulled out to sea.
Despite warnings from local authorities, no one else has been killed by a shark attack in Israel since 1940, with an Israeli environmental organisation warning that a “unique phenomenon” could be behind a rise in the number of predators around Hadera, increasing the risk of fatal incidents.
“Every winter, a unique phenomenon occurs in Israel in which sharks and rays gather at the outlet of the warm waters of the power stations,” the Society for the Protection of Nature said in a statement.
“In the case of such a fascinating and public-attracting phenomenon, it would be appropriate to take conservation and safety measures for the public, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area.”
Winter in Israel lasts from November to March, although sharks could have remained off the coast near Orot Rabi, a nearby power station, over the following months.
Mr Tzach’s wife Sarit explained in a social media post that her husband had been planning to “dive and document the sharks, not feed or play with them”.
Following nearly two days of scouring the area, authorities recovered “what appeared to be part of” the father-of-four.
Deputy Fire Chief Doron Almashali said: “After a day-and-a-half of intensive effort, we have found what appears to be part of the missing person. Nautrally these findings must undergo thorough examinations by the Israel Police and the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.”
Some locals had a different theory about what caused the attacks, however – suggesting the sharks had been provoked by local fisherman.
“It’s no wonder they attacked,” one person said. “There are fisherman here all the time and their hooks injure the sharks, causing them to bleed. That’s why they went after people.”