A shark was killed after being dragged to shore at Yalong Berth beach in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on Sunday afternoon.

It was the first time a shark had been caught in the beach area, a popular tourist site in Hainan.

Local fishermen said they caught the 3-metre-long, 1-ton shark by chance when they were fishing in sea water 1,000 meters deep near the beach.

Police temporarily protected the shark while oceanographers decided whether it was a species subject to State protection.

Fishermen later killed and sold the shark after oceanographers confirmed that it was a whale shark and therefore not under State protection.

The shark was believed to have drifted into the area from the deep sea due to strong waves caused last week by Typhoon Imbudo. It had no open injuries but experts said they believed it suffered from internal bleeding.

Local police officer Fu Chenggeng said beachgoers should not feel threatened by sharks because the fish never attack human beings on their own initiative.

Fu said he had never heard of any shark attacks at the Sanya beach since he first started work there eight years ago.

However, police said they will improve the security system to safeguard tourists' safety on the beach.

(China Daily July 29, 2003)