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Family tells of terror after shark shuts down beaches

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A woman has described the terrifying moment when she saw a huge shark as she swam with a group of children off Lamma Island.

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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.

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The couple believe the creature they saw was a whale shark, the world's largest shark species, due to distinctive markings on its back.

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