Busan shark slips back into canal

Bukangi, the shark that was guided out of a canal in Busan after more than a month, has returned to the waterway.

The shark was seen swimming Thursday morning in a narrow space between a flat floating platform, known as a pontoon, installed near the canal's exit to prevent it from coming back and a net set up as a second backstop, a day after it was successfully guided out of the canal.

Observers say the shark could have swum into the canal under the pontoon.

The shark — named Bukangi after Bukhang, Korean for North Port — was first spotted in the canal on Sept. 18. Since then, the canal park has turned into a major attraction, drawing over 1.6 million visitors as of Sunday.

After two previous attempts to guide the fish to the open sea failed, officials had waited for it to exit the canal on its own. But after it didn't, officials made a third attempt, concerned the shark could die if water temperatures fell further.

On Wednesday, a joint team involving municipal and Coast Guard officials steered Bukangi toward the canal's exit using a net secured to a pontoon. At around 6 p.m., the shark was spotted near a pier outside the canal, although the waters there are not considered open sea.

However, some visitors had reported seeing the shark swimming back into the canal at around 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Yonhap