A diving enthusiast was mistaken as a fish twice in a row on Sunday.

News that a diving enthusiast was mistaken as a fish twice in a row went viral on Sunday. According to reports, a man surnamed Zhao from Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, went to the seaside to catch a fish with his friends. A friend saw some bubbles in the water and thought that it is a fish. However, it turns out that the "big fish" was actually a diver.

Coincidently, the diver then went to dive on the other side and was caught by a fellow fisherman on the other side again. Local officials responded on Monday saying that normally, divers using a buoy when underwater, but that day there was no buoy. And that is why the diver was mistakenly recognized as a fish. "The iron plate must have caught the diver's armpit, forcing him to swim ashore," a representative from the local department of marine affairs said.

While netizens were saddened by the diver's experience, they also warned that divers should pay attention to safety while in the water. "As there are many people fishing at the seaside, those who love to dive should find themselves a safe place. It is not good to be injured by the hook," a netizen said.