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Three men leaped into the chilly Atlantic Ocean to try and drag a shark that became stuck in the shallows of a Cape Breton beach back out to open water.

Photographer Sean O’Connell, who witnessed the night-time rescue attempt from Inverness Beach, said the men donned headlamps as they pulled on either side of the shark and pushed from behind, guiding it back out to sea.

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But O’Connell says their efforts Saturday night were not successful, as the three-metre shark went “belly up” once it was in deeper waters and it washed ashore the following day.

The Cape Breton native says he’s never seen a shark so close to shore on the island before, and its carcass has been drawing spectators to the sandy beach.

According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans website, about 19 species of shark can be found in Atlantic Canada.