Horrified beachgoers raced to help a woman after she was mauled by a shark.
The victim was dragged to shore by a team of rescuers on South Padre Island in Texas on Thursday morning.
And chillingly the shark’s dorsal fin can be seen swimming back and forth close to shore as the woman was pulled onto the sand.
First responders rushed to wrap a tourniquet around her bleeding leg as her blood turned the sea a dark red colour.
She’s one of two people who were bitten by a shark at that beach on the US Independence Day, while two more also encountered the marine mammal.
Shark encounters are rare in Texas, and in this case it’s thought a single shark, measuring about six feet long, was responsible.
Texas Parks and Wildlife said: ‘Details at this time indicate that two people were bitten and two people encountered the shark but were not seriously injured.
‘The two victims who were bitten were transported to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville where one is being treated and the other has been flown out for further treatment.
‘Local game wardens and members of the Texas Game Warden Marine Tactical Operations Group assisted in patrolling the beach by boat and land patrol while DPS patrolled the area by helicopter and SPI PD and Cameron County rangers assisted with crowd control on the beach.
‘No further details are known at this time.’
Authorities considered closing the beach following the shark attack, but it’s thought it remained open throughout the rest of the day.
Dr Kelsey Banks, a scientist with the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation at Texas A&M, told CBS News that the video suggested a ‘larger shark species’, adding: ‘Larger coastal species have been known to increase feeding behaviors and remain closer to shore prior to large meteorological disturbances.’
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