Busan to launch 2nd rescue attempt for shark Bukangi
Rescue authorities deploy boats and water pumps in a waterfront park’s artificial waterway in an attempt to guide the canal-trapped shark "Bukangi" out of the waterway, Tuesday. The efforts were not successful. Yonhap
A second rescue operation will be carried out Friday afternoon to return “Bukangi,” a shark that has been stranded in an artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park for 15 days, to the open sea.
A joint rescue team of Busan city officials and other relevant agencies is slated to begin the second rescue attempt at 3:30 p.m. The operation will involve pulling a custom-made 50-meter-long, 6.8-meter-high net to draw the shark toward the open sea from the fourth pedestrian bridge spanning the waterfront park’s waterway.
Two boats and 10 personnel will be deployed for the operation.
The net will be stretched from one end of the waterway to the other to block any gaps through which Bukang could escape, before the team slowly moves toward the open sea. One boat will tow the center of the net, while five people will be positioned at each end of the waterway to hold the net and keep pace with the shark.
Behind the net, another boat equipped with a water pump will create foam on the water to guide Bukangi toward the open sea. Once the shark passes through the fifth and sixth pedestrian bridges and moves out of the waterway, the team will secure the net to prevent the shark from returning.
A first rescue attempt was made three days earlier, only to fail after five hours as Bukangi avoided the streams of water.
“We previously conducted a guidance operation using a boat and water pump, but the shark did not leave the waterway, so we were unable to release it into the sea. This time, we plan to use a net and a boat equipped with a water pump simultaneously to increase the chances of successfully returning the shark to the open sea,” a Busan city official said.
Bukangi, affectionately named with the combination of Busan's Bukhang or North Port, and the Korean suffix "-i," was first spotted on Sept. 18 in the artificial waterway at the waterfront park, attracting a total of 674,800 visitors from across the country to see the shark up close as of Wednesday.
As its stay in the waterway has been prolonged, authorities have been working to guide the shark back to the open sea. Sharks typically inhabit the open sea and could suffer health problems or potentially die if they remain in the narrow waterway for an extended period.