A shark is stuck in a canal in Busan, South Korea. Officials try to guide it back to the open sea. Their first two tries fail. Finally, the third attempt works!

The female dusky shark is almost 10 feet long. People nicknamed it Bukangi. That name comes from the Korean name for Busan’s North Port. 

Folks first spotted the shark in mid-September. It slowly circled the canal. 

Busan officials made Bukangi a city mascot. They say the big fish attracted more than 1.7 million visitors to the canal. 

But a canal is no place for a shark. Experts say it didn’t appear to eat during its monthlong stay. People saw it bumping into the canal walls. 

On Wednesday, workers used a floating platform to move the shark along the waterway. Some stood on the platform. They used oars to push Bukangi forward whenever it swam back toward the platform. Dozens of other workers on both banks pulled ropes to drag the structure forward. Hundreds of onlookers gathered to watch the rescue effort.

The workers managed to push the platform about a half mile toward the mouth of the canal. They put additional netting in front of the canal to prevent the shark from swimming back in.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency later reported sightings of Bukangi at a nearby pier.

“We will never forget the great interest people have shown for Bukangi and Busan’s waters,” Busan Mayor Chun Jae-soo wrote online. “We hope Bukangi can live a healthy life in the blue sea.”

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that is in them. — Psalm 146:5-6