SEOUL, South Korea — After failed attempts in recent weeks, South Korean officials on Wednesday finally freed a large gray shark that had been trapped for more than a month in a canal in the port city of Busan.
Officials used a floating platform to herd the 3-meter-long (9.8-foot) female dusky shark, nicknamed Bukangi after the Korean name for Busan's North Port, along the narrow canal for hours. The shark lingered at the canal's mouth but eventually swam to sea, Busan Mayor Chun Jae-soo said.
The shark was first spotted in mid-September and became a major tourist attraction as it slowly circled the canal, its fins slicing through the water’s surface.
Busan officials, who made Bukangi a city mascot, said the shark attracted more than 1.7 million visitors to the canal. But they struggled for weeks to find a way to guide it back to the open sea.
Wednesday’s operation was the third attempt to free Bukangi, following failed efforts on Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 that involved boats spraying streams of water and nets placed across the narrow waterway. The shark avoided the boats and swam over the nets.
Experts have raised concerns about the shark’s condition, saying it had shown no signs of feeding during its monthlong stay in the canal and that falling water temperatures posed additional health risks.
Wednesday’s operation involved painstakingly maneuvering a large floating platform through the canal to drive the shark out. Workers stood on the platform and used oars to push Bukangi back whenever it approached. Dozens of other workers on both banks pulled ropes to drag the structure forward, as hundreds of onlookers lined the canal to watch the highly unusual rescue effort.
Workers managed to push the platform about a kilometer (0.6 miles) toward the mouth of the canal and placed additional netting in front of the structure to prevent the shark from swimming back in.
It wasn’t immediately clear how far the shark swam out and South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that it was seen at a nearby pier.
“We will never forget the great interest people have shown for Bukangi and Busan’s waters,” Chun wrote on Facebook. “We hope Bukangi can live a healthy life in the blue sea.”
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