Surfers and swimmers raced to get out of the water at Bondi Beach on Wednesday morning after a frightening discovery.

Surfers near the southern portion of the Australian beach discovered a 2-meter long Great White shark in the shallows at around 6:20 a.m. Alarms sounded as beachgoers made their way to safety.

Bondi Beach is located in a suburb of Sydney in the province of New South Wales. It occupies roughly a half square mile.

Once lifeguards began looking for the potentially dangerous animal, all they were able to find was a younger shark. The alarms were lifted as the shark swam away and the beach was not evacuated.

“The alarm was sounded following a sighting, however on inspection, it was a baby shark, and did not warrant an evacuation,” a spokesman for the Waverly Council said.

However dangerous the shark may or may not have been, it was nonetheless able to get past an array of shark nets in place at Bondi for guests’ protection. Nets have been in place since 1937 and work to attract sharks so that they can be either released or killed.

Bondi Beach is pictured as a smokey haze hangs over Sydney
Bondi Beach is pictured as a smokey haze hangs over Sydney AFP / PETER PARKS