One holiday maker assumed a fire had broken out in a nearby apartment when she noticed the beach covered in a dark grey mist – other sunbathers simply fled in fear
Benidorm: Eerie fog descends across beach leaving holidayers terrified
Holidaymakers in Benidorm were left terrified after having to flee a beach that became engulfed in thick grey fog – while Brits at home gloated about sunbathing in their gardens.
Tracy Stocks and her husband were left bewildered when a thick grey mist appeared on Sunday, May 5, at the beach they were sunbathing on while on a trip to Benidorm. The 43-year-old thought a fire had broken out in a nearby apartment, but chose to stay put and film the strange scene, despite most of the other holidaymakers fleeing.
Tracy, who works as a carer, shared video footage on Facebook, accompanied by a message that simply read: “What happened”. The clip shows a dark grey mist engulfing the entire beach as creeped-out tourists quickly packed away their belongings and fled.
Several Facebook users rushed to the comments and identified the mystery cloud as a thick ‘sea mist’, which occurs as a result of a temperature difference between land and water. Some users took the opportunity to jokingly gloat about how sunny it was in the UK in comparison, while another quipped “it’s lovely and sunny in Derby”.
The couple, who travel to Benidorm regularly, arrived on April 10 for a few weeks of relaxation. Tracy said she had never experienced anything like it, adding: “It was really strange. We were just sunbathing and we saw what we thought was smoke coming from the new town. It circled round us and we were in the middle of it.
“Everyone was running off the beach. I didn’t know if it was smoke or whatever. I thought one of the apartments was on fire. We watched it for a bit. We couldn’t see any of the buildings either side or the rocks. It was just pure mist. We asked the locals what it was. Someone told us it was sea mist.
“Everybody had their cameras out and even the local restaurants were coming outside and got their phones out to see what was going on. Quite a lot of us ran off. It’s something you’d expect back in the UK but not in Benidorm. It was very bizarre.”
The 43-year-old said it was ‘ironic’ that those in the UK experienced a sunnier bank holiday than she did, despite the purpose of her trip being to get some sun and a tan.
Tracy continued: “My friends and family were telling us how hot it is in the UK. It was crackers. Normally when we’re away it’s raining in England. It was quite frustrating really. But we have the beach right near us at least. I sent photos to friends and everyone was asking what it was. We don’t get that in Lincoln. I put the pictures up to see if anybody knew what it was. It was a bit different.”
The couple say they haven’t been put off by the eerie ‘sea mist’ as they went on to look for ways to extend their stay, despite their plans to fly back to the UK on April 12.
Many users took to the comments to identify the strange grey cloud. One person said: “It’s just a sea mist. Chill people”, while another agreed, adding: “Oh sea mist amazing to see.” A third user said: “When cold air meets warm air.”
Other users joked about how the UK was hot and sunny in comparison. One user added: “It’s lovely and sunny in Derby”, while another said: “Us in Britain have borrowed the sun for a day.”
