Watch swimmers turn on the ‘shark’ and whack it with a mop to evict it from a tourist beach in Turkey

This is the dramatic moment a swimmer used a mop to mop a ‘shark’ to drive it off a beach in Turkey.

The creature was filmed swimming onto a beach full of children in the popular tourist destination of Marmaris.

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Swimmers feared it was a shark as a dark fin sticks out as it circles locals and tourists standing in the shallows.

Others in the background show horror while some dive into the water as the creature whirls around their feet.

But a brave swimmer approaches the “shark” and starts hitting it on the head with a mop to scare it away.

He smacks it on the head a few times as the man filming is heard giggling.

After a few hits, the creature appears to swim the other direction away from the crowd while a group of swimmers stay in place to make sure it disappears.

But authorities in Marmaris later confirmed it wasn’t a shark – and poked fun at the man who swam in the sea with a mop.

They said: “The fish seen on the public beach and mistaken for a shark was a Mediterranean garfish.

“According to experts, it is a harmless animal. That’s why you don’t need to take a mop with you when you go into the sea.”

Although it wasn’t a shark this time, the Mediterranean is said to be home to 47 different shark species – including the blue shark, great hammerhead and great white shark.

It comes after several beaches on Egypt’s Red Sea coast were closed after two women – an Austrian and a Romanian – were killed within 600 meters of each other in separate shark attacks.

A 68-year-old woman from Austria’s Tyrol region who was on holiday in Egypt died on Friday after losing an arm and leg in an attack while swimming in the sea.

Elizabeth Sauer told her husband she was going back into the water “just for a moment” just before the fatal incident.

Egyptian authorities said a mako shark was responsible for her death.

And on Sunday, a Romanian woman was also found dead after being attacked.

Both incidents happened off the coast of Sahl Hasheesh near the city of Hurghada, some 60 miles southwest of the popular resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

An expert said the two women may have been killed by the same animal amid fears of overfishing and “shark-feeding” experiences for tourists that drive the predators to shore.

Shark attacks are incredibly rare in the Red Sea, with no more than a handful every few years.

But in 2010, five people were attacked in Sharm El Sheikh within just as many days, and a 71-year-old German died from her injuries.

Speaking to The Sun Online, Dr. Lucy Hawkes of the University of Exeter says it’s possible both of the weekend’s deadly attacks were carried out by the same shark.

dr Hawkes, a senior lecturer in physiological ecology who has traveled to the Red Sea to tag sharks for conservation purposes, said human activity is decimating shark populations and driving them further in search of food.

Sam Purkis, chair of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Miami, also said that the dumping of animal carcasses in the Red Sea by passing cargo ships may have resulted in two sharks appearing at once.

“This brings sharks to the surface to feed and puts them in contact with swimmers,” he explained.