A woman has described the terrifying moment when she saw a huge shark as she swam with a group of children off Lamma Island.
Police confirmed the presence of a shark yesterday and authorities ordered the closure of 12 beaches on Lamma and Hong Kong Islands.
Anne-Sophie Girard was on a catamaran yacht, moored off Sham Wan, and enjoying a party with her husband Martin, their four children, aged five to 12, and friends when she took a dip yesterday afternoon.
But summer fun turned to horror when the boat's captain spotted a fin and ordered the 15 swimmers, including Girard and her two youngest children, back onboard.
'At that moment we were just really scared. It was quite a big shark. It was a close call,' she said.
The couple believe the creature they saw was a whale shark, the world's largest shark species, due to distinctive markings on its back.