Shark sighting prompts evacuation of Sydney beach

A popular southern Sydney beach was on Monday morning evacuated after a shark was spotted by a drone operator.



Cronulla Beach in southern Sydney was closed shortly before 9 a.m. local time on Monday when a drone operator from the Surf Life Saving service spotted a shark nearby.



According to shark sighting service Dorsal Watch, the species and size of the shark were not identified.



The state government of New South Wales in June announced it would spend 24.5 million U.S. dollars on shark-spotting drones to monitor around 70 beaches across the state year-round as part of a wider 86.5 million U.S. dollars investment in the shark management program.



Under the same program, two shark listening stations were installed in August for the first time in Sydney Harbor to provide real-time alerts when tagged sharks are nearby.



The government said late in August that the expanded drone surveillance had recorded 750 shark sightings since the start of July.