By Daily Mail (World News) | Created at 2026-08-10 12:35:21 | Updated at 2026-08-10 13:32:45
1 hour ago
Panicked swimmers were seen racing to escape a shark – only to realise that they were running away from a tuna.
Footage taken at Ancon Beach on Marbella's so-called Golden Mile showed the huge fish thrashing around near the shore.
From a distance, the fish appeared to be a shark. A beachgoer was seen trying to outswim it in a panic.
Others were seen running towards it, hoping to catch a glimpse.
The monster sea creature turned out to be a giant 650lb tuna which thrashed around in the shallow water to try to get back out to sea as more and more people arrived.
The sea turned red as the tuna, which was bleeding from its gills and is thought to have ended up in trouble after being injured by fishing gear or a jet-ski, moved around violently in the water.
Once it became clear it was harmless and in difficulties, beachgoers are said to have helped it return to deeper water using sun beds and deck chairs to push it back out.
The nationality of the swimmer who had a scare he wasn't expecting when he went for a dip was not immediately clear this morning.
Footage taken at Ancon Beach on Marbella's so-called Golden Mile showed the huge fish thrashing around near the shore
A beachgoer was seen trying to outswim it in a panic
The monster sea creature turned out to be a giant 650lb tuna which thrashed around in the shallow water
From a distance, the fish appeared to be a shark
Camilo Orosa, a Marbella-based local commenting on the scenes, said: 'My God, if it were me, I would already have s*** my pants, or rather my swimming trunks.'
Another social media user added: 'If I was that swimmer I would have died from a heart attack. It looks like a shark.'
He added, referencing the classic 1975 thriller about a great white by Steven Spielberg: 'All that was missing was the music from Jaws.'
Jade Bloomberg, a British expat who runs a Marbella-based electric water sports and wellness company, said: 'It was in so much distress, I went into the water to see if it was tangled in a net or if it had something inside but nothing. It was huge, so beautiful.'
Another social media user said: 'That poor tuna must have had some kind of collision with a jet ski or something similar.
'Tuna being around is normal and they tend to stay close to the coast. Sometimes they get mistaken for dolphins.'
