A diver was missing and feared dead on Monday evening, hours after he was attacked by at least one shark off the coast of Hadera, in Israel.

Axar.az reports, citing the Times of Israel, the incident took place near the Orot Rabin power station.

Authorities were conducting a search on the Hadera Stream beach, according to Magen David Adom emergency services. Police closed the beach until further notice.

The Hadera municipality’s Coastal Department said it was conducting searches by jet ski to locate the diver, and would update with further developments.

Footage uploaded to social media also showed helicopters scanning the waters for the missing man.

People on the beach filmed the incident on mobile phones. One man could be heard exclaiming, “Wow, wow, he’s with the shark, he’s fighting him,” as the man was seen in the distance. “They’re eating him, eating the man… Can’t see him.”

The incident took place in an area of the beach where swimming was already prohibited.

Dusky and sandbar sharks, which frequent the area during the period between November and May, are not known to attack humans.

The Nature and Parks Authority on Monday said it “repeats its warning… against interacting with sharks. We again call on the public not to approach the sharks, which are protected animals.”

דיווחים דרמטיים על צוללן שננשך ככה"נ על ידי כריש בחוף הים בחדרה. בנתיים הבחור לא נמצא. חיפושים כעת בחוף. ואווו pic.twitter.com/DfbABlFuj1

— שלמה ⛈️ מזג אוויר (@MezgAvirIL) April 21, 2025