South Korea: Over 1.6 million visitors flocked to see the celebrity shark

A shark that became a sensation after spending more than a month in a canal in South Korea's Busan city has been successfully guided back into the open sea following two failed rescue attempts. It marked 34 days since the shark was first discovered in the waterway. The shark, nicknamed Bukrangi, was first spotted in a narrow waterway at Busan North Port on the 18th of September. More than 1.6 million people visited the waterfront park through October 20th to catch a glimpse of the animal. of the shark. According to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation, Bukangi is a female dusky shark measuring about 9.84 feet, nearly 10 feet in height, pardon me, in length, and is classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The shark's prolonged stay drew particular attention because of the unusual location. The narrow canal is situated in North Port, close to high-rise buildings and a major high-speed rail station In the heart of Busan, authorities first attempted to guide the shark towards the sea on the 29th of September using vessels equipped with water jets, but failed a second attempt on October 2nd, which involved a 50-meter long and 6.8-meter high net. But rescuers had to end the operation after the net was caught on rocks on the canal floor. Now, today's third and successful attempt, authorities used a net attached to floating platforms along with divers to overcome difficulties posed by the canals of underwater terrain and varying depths. Drones were also mobilized to track Bukrangi movements. Workers moved the net towards the open sea while preventing the shark from swimming back into the canal. Finally the celebrity shark was caught sent back to the open sea.