Alex Trelinski
A POPULAR Catalunya beach was closed off to swimmers for three hours on Wednesday after reports of a crocodile wandering on the sand.
A security guard for a hire company offering inflatables to visitors to the beach at L’Arenal de L’Hospitalet de l’Infant, in Tarragona claimed he spotted the creature at 7am.
He contacted the Vandellos and L’Hospitalet Policia Local to say a one-and-half metre-long crocodile was on the beach near the inflatables.
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The man added that he discovered marks in the sand that could have been caused by the reptile.
Although crocodiles are freshwater reptiles, several Policia Local officers, Catalunya rural police, and lifeguards combed the area in search of the animal but without luck.
A red flag prohibiting swimming was raised as a precaution and was switched to yellow at 10am, meaning that bathing was allowed but with caution.
Despite no trace of the reptile, the lifeguards and the police still remained on alert based on the sighting being genuine.
Civil Protection said they only had the statement of the witness to go on, and they had subsequently not received any further reports about the crocodile.
In June 2022, L’Arenal beach raised the red flag and was closed for two days due to the presence of sharks in the water.
