Shark sighting halts some Newport Beach water access overnight

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- An 8-foot-long shark was spotted from the air by police in a helicopter over Newport Beach Wednesday night, triggering the closure of a swath of water access that lasted into Thursday morning.

Lifeguards prohibited swimmers and surfers from entering the ocean between Newport Pier and 56th Street "as a precaution," according to the City of Newport Beach's Twitter account.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, ocean access was reopened.

The city, in a tweet, noted that the shark, which was originally sighted about 200 yards off 36th Street, appeared to just be swimming and "not acting aggressively."