WELLFLEET, Mass. — A shark sighting off Cape Cod prompted officials to order swimmers out of the water in Wellfleet for about an hour.

State officials told the Cape Cod Times that divers spotted the 16-foot-long shark about a quarter-mile off shore Saturday and warned surfers when it moved to about 100 yards from the beach. Someone also called the National Park Service to report the shark.

Officials with the state Division of Marine Fisheries say the shark appeared to be a basking shark, not a great white. A section of the Cape Cod National Seashore was closed to swimming for about an hour, and swimmers at Wellfleet town beaches were told to stay out of deep water.

A shark sighting in the same area two weeks ago prompted a swimming ban.


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