A 20-year-old man had his leg bitten by a shark as he snorkelled.
Matteo Mariotti was in metre-deep water filming fish when he suddenly felt a “terrible pain.”
He was quickly pulled into deeper waters.
He’d gone for a dip to clear his head after finding out his grandfather had died.
His GoPro footage shows the moments of terror Matteo went through as the shark mutilated him.
He said: “I started this video a few moments after the last bite, I wanted to say goodbye.
“I never thought I would survive that monster. I lost a lot of blood and my leg.”
The vicious attack took place off 1770 Beach, north of Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia on Friday (8 Dec).
Matteo recalled: “It was 4:30 pm on Friday, and I had just learned that my grandfather Giovanni had died.
“I needed to relax, and I thought of taking a swim not far from the shore.
“I took a small camera to capture the fish, but after a few steps, I felt a terrible pain in my foot.”
Matteo had moved to Australia from Parma, Italy, in September.
He planned to stay down under to find work and study marine biology.
His dad Michele, later told Italian media: “Matteo was strong, calm, and courageous: with his hands, he opened the shark’s mouth to free his leg.”
Matteo’s video shows how the water turned red with his blood as he swam to shore as quickly as he could muster.
Nurse and diving instructor Tommaso Agosti was on the beach and squeezed his pal’s wounded leg to stop the bleeding.
Shortly after he called for help, a helicopter arrived on the scene and flew Matteo to a hospital in Brisbane.
He was taken to the operating room, where his left leg was amputated below the knee.
He awaits further operations.
Michele said: “He didn’t see the shark coming, perhaps a tiger shark or a great white shark, common in that area, which attacked him from behind three times.
“In a few seconds, it had already dragged him into deep water to devour him as they do with prey.”
He added: “But he is alive, and that is what matters.”
The 1770 Beach is near the mouth of a river.
Its waters are extremely dangerous because in the late afternoon, especially after rain, sharks turn up to feed on the fish brought by the water flow.
READ MORE: Holidaymaker nurse attacked by shark while snorkelling
