AN 11-YEAR-old boy has been left with severe injuries including an amputated leg after a brutal shark mauling in Brazil.
Horror footage from after the attack shows panicked bystanders drag the stricken child onto the packed beach.
Horrified beachgoers rushed to help an 11-year-old boy who was mauled by a shark Credit: Newsflash
The boy was quickly surrounded by a crowd of panicked bystanders Credit: Newsflash
The boy is pulled to safety and laid on the sand as terrified beachgoers gather around him.
He had been at the beach with his uncle, Aldemir Jose, and two other children on Sunday morning.
The predator pounced on the boy at around 1.40pm, causing serious wounds to his left hand, hip and leg.
Fighting back tears, Aldemir recalled: “We were all in the sea before the attack and I had just left the water and left the kids in the sea.
The 11-year-old suffered severe wounds to his left side Credit: Newsflash
Piedade beach in Recife is notorious for shark attacks Credit: Alamy
“Then I heard a strange noise and when I turned round all I could see was blood. I didn’t think twice and raced into the water to get my nephew out.
“He was conscious and just kept begging me not to let him die.”
The shocking incident unfolded at the popular Piedade Beach in Recife, a city on Brazil’s north-eastern Atlantic coast.
Lifeguards reportedly provided immediate assistance before paramedics from the Mobile Emergency Care Service arrived to continue treatment.
The stricken boy was rushed to Aeronautics Hospital in the suburb before being transferred to the bigger Hospital da Restauracao in central Recife.
He was taken into surgery for treatment, with local media reporting that he is now conscious and in a stable condition.
Fire officials say the mauling happened in an area covered by a state decree warning about the risk of shark attacks.
They confirmed that warning signs had been installed along the beach.
Tourists and punters have been urged to obey lifeguards and avoid prohibited swimming zones.
Danise Alves, the executive secretary of the State Committee for Monitoring Shark Incidents (CEMIT), said: “In Jaboatao, the bathing ban extends from the BarraMares Hotel to the Piedade Church.
“Where the boy was attacked, the sign informs that the area is subject to attacks and provides information on when swimming should be avoided.”
Piedade Beach is considered one of the most dangerous hotspots in and has recorded dozens of incidents over the past three decades.
According to the State Committee for Monitoring Shark Incidents, the latest attack was the 83rd recorded shark incident in Pernambuco state since monitoring began in 1992.
The committee said Piedade Beach alone had recorded 24 incidents during that period.
Some travellers to the area have commented on the shark danger on sites like Tripadvisor.
One English speaker said recently “A very cool beach, unfortunately inappropriate for bathing because it is quite dangerous due to the attacks of sharks, but worth the walk.”
Another said: “That beach is beautiful and we stayed in a hotel facing the sea, but you cannot bathe because of the presence of sharks.
“There are many beaches 50 or 100 km away, so it was essential for us to rent a car.”
On March 5 2023 a 14-year-old lost one of his legs after being attacked by a shark on Piedade Beach.
The following day a 15-year-old boy lost his left arm after entering the sea in the same area.
The attack this weekend was also the third shark-related incident registered in Pernambuco in 2026.
Earlier this year, at Del Chifre Beach in nearby Olinda.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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