Authorities reopened beaches near San Diego in Southern California on Monday, two days after a shark attack killed a swimmer and prompted a surf festival to be canceled.
David Martin, 66, a retried veterinarian and a member of a local triathlon club, was swimming with friends Friday morning when he was attacked by an apparent great white shark. He died before being pulled off waters by rescuers.
Authorities posted shark warning signs along about 15 kilometers of beaches in the area after the attack, while beach lifeguards advised people to stay out of the water along the San Diego coastline over the weekend.
The Encinitas Surf Festival, which would have been held just north of the beach where the accident happened, has been canceled due to the attack, organizers said.
Helicopter crews scanned the beaches over the weekend, but no shark sightings were reported. Officials said they were planning to lift the warnings.
"This shark is probably long, long gone by now, but this is all precautionary," said Craig Miller, a local marine safety officer.
Shark attacks are rare in the San Diego area. A woman's body was found with shark bites along Ocean Beach in San Diego in 2004,and before that the most recent fatal shark attack in the area was in June 1959 when a diver was killed.
The most recent fatal shark attack in California was in August,2004, when an abalone diver was attacked in Mendocino County of Northern California.
Source:Xinhua
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