Orange Beach Sharks Chase Swimmers Away on Alabama Gulf Coast

By    |   Monday, 09 June 2014 12:50 PM EDT ET

Orange Beach on the Alabama gulf coast was closed to swimmers over the weekend after more than 100 sharks were spotted in the water, prompting a double red flag warning.

It's not clear what kind of sharks were drawn to the Alabama coast but News 5 WKRG in Mobile spied between 100 and 150 of them after a helicopter flyby Sunday.

Aquatics and Beach Safety Director Melvin Shepard said it seems the sharks may have been drawn to the shallow waters by dead fish.

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"Hopefully, once people stop throwing their fish carcasses into the water, [sharks] may not be swimming in such numbers that close to the beach," he said in a press release.

No injuries were reported but WWL-TV reported that some beachgoers disregarded the double red warning and went swimming anyway. But most parents, understandably, wouldn't let their children near the water.

"I don't want to see any hands or feet missin' or legs missin' or bites out of em or anything like that," one woman told the local station.

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Orange Beach was closed to swimmers in Alabama over the weekend after about 100 sharks were spotted in the water, prompting a double red flag warning.
orange, beach, sharks, chase, swimmers, away
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2014-50-09
Monday, 09 June 2014 12:50 PM
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