Dad ‘wanted to swim with sharks’ before being mauled on Israeli beach where ‘tourists PLAY with beasts & tug their fins’
A DAD who was mauled by a deadly shark on an Israeli beach reportedly wanted to stay in the waters and swim alongside the beasts.
Terrifying footage showed a shark circling around in water just moments before it attacked the swimmer in front of horrified beachgoers.
The swimmer was savaged off Olga Beach near Hadera, northwest Israel, in front of horrified crowds, and has not been seen since.
Israeli authorities are now scouring to find the swimmer who is presumed dead.
Local media reported that the man, whose identity has not been revealed yet, had gone to swim with the dusky sharks.
Dusky sharks are usually considered harmless to humans.
They often gather in the area, along with the endangered sandbar shark, because they like the warm water released by a nearby power plant.
The beach area is said to be famous among swimmers and surfers, where visitors play with sharks’ fins and throw fish to eat.
One clip shared by the Israeli media showed a shark approaching the man in thigh-deep water.
The man can be heard shouting: “What a huge shark! Whoa! He’s coming toward us!”
He then says to a boy “dont move” before asking: “What, are you afraid of the sharks?”
Harrowing footage showed the diver thrashing about as the water around him foamed red with blood.
People watched in horror from the beach as fins and limbs splashed around – but could do nothing to stop the savaging.
The attack happened in an area where swimming is prohibited, according to JNS.
An eyewitness revealed that the victim screamed “help” and “they’re biting me” while waving his hands in the air.
She reported that he was then dragged further out to sea.
Eliya Motai, who saw the attack, told Ynet: “I was in the water, I saw blood and there were screams.”
Another witness, Shlomo, said: “We were just walking down to the water when we saw someone flailing in the sea — fighting a shark and trying to get away.
“The shark lunged at him. It was hard to watch. It was chilling. We literally saw the shark attack him.
“I don’t understand how the beach wasn’t closed. It could’ve been me. All of us are traumatised.”
A third told the site: “It’s no wonder they attacked. There are fishermen here all the time and their hooks injure the sharks, causing them to bleed. That’s why they went after people.”
A massive search operation involving jet-skis and helicopters failed to find any trace of the swimmer on Monday, and was expected to resume today.
All the nearby beaches were closed by the authorities following the rare encounter and lined with black flags to enforce a swimming ban.
Yehuda Zimbris, who filmed the sharks at Beit Yanai, said: “I suddenly noticed two shadows in the water. I started recording and saw they were sharks.
“They got within 50-100 metres of the shoreline, which caused panic among swimmers.