A heartbreaking video shows the moment beachgoers in Florida dragged a stranded shark back into the ocean as it thrashed wildly and gritted its teeth.
Four brave rescuers decided to pull the shark into the water by its tail after seeing the beast beach for themselves and ended up stuck on the shoreline of Pensacola Beach.
“After a few seconds of watching him struggle to get back into the water, my husband took the lead to try to help him,” said a woman who saw the rescue.
As the men draw closer to the sea, the footage shows the deadly Mako shark lunging at its rescuers in scenes reminiscent of Jaws, lashing its enormous tail and threatening them with its teeth.
They retreat for a moment as the shark lurches along the shore, while the gathering crowds can be heard in the background.
“Look at those crazy teeth!” a woman shouts behind the camera as the snarling shark flashes a predatory grin.
Four brave rescuers decided to pull the shark into the water by its tail after spotting the stranded creature on the shoreline of Pensacola Beach.
As the men move it closer to the sea, the footage shows the deadly Mako shark lashing its enormous tail and threatening them with its teeth.
The men continue to wrestle the enormous shark – estimated to weigh as much as 600 pounds – to slowly but surely return it to its natural habitat.
One of the most daring rescuers remains in the water while the others flee to the safety of the shore.
He continues to try to steer the shark and make it go further into the water, even after it is pulled from the beach.
“Honey, it’s too dangerous, don’t do that,” the woman can be heard pleading to her partner.
He ignores her and carefully tips the shark, which was stuck on its side, into position – seemingly without concern for his own safety.
As he flicks the shark’s tail into the water, onlookers watch with bated breath to see if it will head back out to sea, with one asking if the deadly fish is still alive.
Miraculously, the rescue was successful and the shark made its way into the ocean, while the men’s efforts were applauded by onlookers.
Witnesses said the shark became stuck in the sand after seeing it traveling toward shore at “high speed.”
“We were just sitting on the beach enjoying it and my friend just said, ‘Look over there in the water, man.’ I saw that fin and I thought, yeah, it was two or three sandbars away from us,” Josh Fey, one of the rescuers, reportedly said. WKRG.
It took four men to drag the ferocious creature from the shore and back to its natural habitat
The Mako shark flopped around as the four beachgoers tried to help refloat it
One of the most daring rescuers remains in the water while the others flee to the safety of the shore
The shark thrashes around after being stranded on the shore, baring its teeth at beachgoers
The shark is eventually released, with the footage capturing the moment it swims back into the sea
“Finally he just turned to the left and came straight towards the shoreline, and I said, ‘That’s a big shark coming in.'”
“And we thought it was chasing bait or something, but it came all the way to the shoreline and beached itself.”
Those who kept a safe distance from it were right to be concerned, as Mako sharks are known for their particularly ferocious bite.
Makos are among the most dangerous sharks in the world, with ten recorded attacks on humans, one of which was fatal.
They can grow up to 4 meters in length and are the fastest recorded sharks in the world, capable of leaping great distances out of the water.