Busan to launch 2nd rescue attempt for shark Bukangi

Busan will make a second attempt Friday afternoon to send the shark Bukangi back to the open sea from Busan North Port Waterfront Park. The joint rescue team will use a custom-made net and a boat with a water pump, after a first attempt failed three days earlier. Bukangi has been stranded in the artificial waterway for 15 days and had drawn 674,800 visitors as of Wednesday. Authorities say the shark may suffer health problems or die if it remains in the narrow waterway too long.

The second rescue attempt is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The operation will use a custom-made 50-meter-long, 6.8-meter-high net.

Two boats and 10 personnel will be deployed.

Bukangi was first spotted on Sept. 18 in the artificial waterway at the waterfront park.

Visitors to see the shark reached 674,800 as of Wednesday.

Published Oct 2, 2026 3:11 pm KST

Rescue authorities deploy boats and water pumps in a waterfront park’s artificial waterway in an attempt to guide the canal-trapped shark "Bukangi" out of the waterway, Tuesday. The efforts were not successful. Yonhap

A second rescue operation will be carried out Friday afternoon to return “Bukangi,” a shark that has been stranded in an artificial waterway at Busan North Port Waterfront Park for 15 days, to the open sea.

A joint rescue team of Busan city officials and other relevant agencies is slated to begin the second rescue attempt at 3:30 p.m. The operation will involve pulling a custom-made 50-meter-long, 6.8-meter-high net to draw the shark toward the open sea from the fourth pedestrian bridge spanning the waterfront park’s waterway.

Two boats and 10 personnel will be deployed for the operation.

The net will be stretched from one end of the waterway to the other to block any gaps through which Bukang could escape, before the team slowly moves toward the open sea. One boat will tow the center of the net, while five people will be positioned at each end of the waterway to hold the net and keep pace with the shark.

Behind the net, another boat equipped with a water pump will create foam on the water to guide Bukangi toward the open sea. Once the shark passes through the fifth and sixth pedestrian bridges and moves out of the waterway, the team will secure the net to prevent the shark from returning.

A first rescue attempt was made three days earlier, only to fail after five hours as Bukangi avoided the streams of water.

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“We previously conducted a guidance operation using a boat and water pump, but the shark did not leave the waterway, so we were unable to release it into the sea. This time, we plan to use a net and a boat equipped with a water pump simultaneously to increase the chances of successfully returning the shark to the open sea,” a Busan city official said.

Bukangi, affectionately named with the combination of Busan's Bukhang or North Port, and the Korean suffix "-i," was first spotted on Sept. 18 in the artificial waterway at the waterfront park, attracting a total of 674,800 visitors from across the country to see the shark up close as of Wednesday.

As its stay in the waterway has been prolonged, authorities have been working to guide the shark back to the open sea. Sharks typically inhabit the open sea and could suffer health problems or potentially die if they remain in the narrow waterway for an extended period.

釜山将于周五下午再次尝试将鲨鱼“布坎吉”（Bukangi）从釜山北港海滨公园送回大海。此前三天的首次尝试失败后，联合救援队将使用特制渔网和配备水泵的船只。“布坎吉”已在人工水道中搁浅15天，截至周三，已有67.48万游客前来参观。当局表示，如果鲨鱼在狭窄的水道中停留时间过长，可能会出现健康问题甚至死亡。

第二次救援行动计划于周五下午3点30分开始。

此次行动将使用一张特制的长50米、高6.8米的网。

将部署两艘船和10名人员。

9月18日，布坎吉首次在滨水公园的人工水道中被发现。

截至周三，前来观看鲨鱼的游客人数已达 674,800 人。

发布于2026年10月2日下午3:11（韩国标准时间）

周二，救援人员在滨水公园的人工水道中部署船只和水泵，试图将困在运河中的鲨鱼“布坎吉”引出水道。但救援行动未能成功。（韩联社）

周五下午将进行第二次救援行动，将搁浅在釜山北港海滨公园人工水道中 15 天的鲨鱼“Bukangi”送回大海。

由釜山市官员和其他相关机构组成的联合救援队计划于下午 3 点 30 分开始第二次救援行动。此次行动将使用一张特制的 50 米长、6.8 米高的网，从横跨滨水公园水道的第四座人行桥上将鲨鱼引向公海。

此次行动将部署两艘船和十名人员。

渔网将从水道的一端拉到另一端，堵住布康可能逃脱的任何缝隙，然后团队会缓慢地向开阔海域移动。一艘船将拖曳渔网的中央部分，而水道的两端将各安排五名队员，负责拉紧渔网并与鲨鱼保持同步。

在渔网后方，另一艘配备水泵的船只将制造泡沫，引导布坎吉鲨鱼游向外海。一旦鲨鱼穿过第五和第六座人行桥并离开水道，救援队将收紧渔网，防止鲨鱼返回。

三天前曾进行过第一次救援尝试，但五个小时后，由于布坎吉避开了水流，救援行动失败了。

釜山鲨成为旅游热点，但也引发了人们对海洋变暖的担忧

釜山市一位官员表示：“我们之前曾尝试用船和水泵引导鲨鱼，但它没有离开水道，所以我们无法将其放生到大海中。这次，我们计划同时使用渔网和配备水泵的船只，以提高成功将鲨鱼放生到公海的几率。”

这条名为“Bukangi”的鲨鱼，其名字由釜山的“北港”（Bukhang）和韩语后缀“-i”组合而成，于9月18日首次在滨水公园的人工水道中被发现。截至周三，这条鲨鱼已吸引了来自全国各地的674,800名游客前来近距离观赏。

由于鲨鱼在水道中停留时间过长，有关部门一直在努力引导它返回公海。鲨鱼通常生活在公海，如果长时间停留在狭窄的水道中，可能会出现健康问题甚至死亡。