It was another beautiful day in Esperance and the ocean at Twilight Beach couldn't have looked more enticing.
Five people decided to make the short swim out to a large rock, which features prominently in the town's tourism advertising, and is a popular place to jump into the ocean.
But as those swimmers stood on the rock and looked into the sea on Thursday, they spotted another figure the town has become infamous for in recent years: a large white shark.
An alarm was sounded, alerting people on the beach to the predator, but those on the rock were stranded.
Local resident Barry Graham was at Twilight Beach at the time and said some of those on the rock decided to make a dash back to shore, swimming when they thought the coast was clear.
But two people decided to stay put and Dane Holdman, part of the emergency response team at the Esperance Goldfields Surf Life Saving Club, was called to give them a hand.
"Personally, I probably wouldn't have gone in the water, just being the fact there is a shark and there are surf lifesaving members on their way to assist," he said.
He and another crew member pulled their inflatable rescue boat up to the rock, and the two stranded men were able to step in and get a ride back to shore.
He said this is not the first time people that have been rescued off the rock because of the local wildlife.
Since 2017, three people have been killed by sharks in the Esperance area.
While some continue to call for the government to take stronger action when it comes to shark mitigation, a new shark barrier and a safe swimming area at the town's foreshore have been popular since they opened last month.
Nearly 30 rescues in three days
It has been a busy summer for the surf lifesaving club, even though Twilight Beach is formally patrolled only one day a week.
The day before the shark incident, Mr Holdman helped pull two people out of a rip.
"I was actually doing maintenance at the surf club on our rescue equipment," he said.
"I was able to get the rescue board ... to retrieve both patients.
He then gave oxygen therapy to one of the rescued people and both were treated for shock.
On Monday, another tourist nearly drowned at Dolphins Cove, just around the corner from Twilight, before being rescued.
He was transported to Esperance Hospital and stayed overnight before being discharged.
Mr Holdman said over just three days at Christmas, the surf lifesaving club performed 28 rescues and more than 180 "preventative actions", which included warning people they were in danger.
He urged people to check safety signs when they arrive at beaches, tell someone before they go to the beach, to take care when walking on rocks and to wear a life jacket when doing so.
