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Beaches closed after 'Volkswagen' sized shark sighting

By Ben Hooper

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Beaches in Massachusetts were closed to swimmers after a pair of fishermen recorded their close encounter with a great white shark one said was the size of a "Volkswagen Beetle."

Patrick Vardaro and Nick Kraszyk said they were fishing off the Plymouth coast Monday when they spotted something in the water nearby.

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"I happened to catch a glimpse of a fin," Kraszyk told WVIT-TV. "I said, 'Hey, let's go check that out.' As we got a little bit closer, to our surprise, about a 12-13 foot white shark."

Vardaro told WCVB-TV the shark was the size of "a Volkswagen Beetle."

"It was wide, it was like as wide as the front of my truck, it was huge," Vardaro told WBZ-TV.

The men captured video of the shark investigating their boat.

"He came right over to the boat," Kraszyk said. "He was a little bit curious, and when he realized that we weren't anything special, he just turned and headed off, couldn't find him anymore."

The men shared their video with the Plymouth Harbormaster, who ordered all of the town's beaches be closed for swimming. Beaches in Wellfleet were also closed due to a nearby shark sighting.

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The beaches were closed for about three hours, and yellow "swim with caution" flags were then put up by officials.

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