Tourists fled the sea in panic after a shark appeared off a packed Majorcan beach and then watched as it swam near the shoreline.

Police closed the beach early this afternoon after the fish swam just a few feet away from children in pedalos playing in the water.

The 10-foot shark, thought to be a tintorera or blue shark, made its unexpected appearance at Cala Domingos, a sandy beach that gets crowded in August in Calas de Majorca on the island's east coast.