This is the horror moment a shark thrashes around in the water near the shore as terrified tourists try to get to safety.
Terrifying footage shows the crazed shark causing panic on a beach on the Caribbean island of San Andres.
It comes less than a year after an Italian tourist was killed in a shark attack on the same Colombian island known for its white-sand beaches.
A man could be seen emerging from the water with a small child in his arms, while women next to him on the crowded bank began to scream as the large fish appeared to attack a short distance away.
It later emerged that the shark, known locally as a hammerhead, had attacked a manta ray.
Terrifying footage shows the crazed shark causing panic on a beach on the Caribbean island of San Andres
A tourist worker on a jet ski was shown trying to scare the shark away (left) as it floundered in the sea (right).
The drama unfolded on Friday at a beach called Spratt Bight, a white-sand beach along the island's main road that is described as family-friendly and is said to be very crowded.
A tourist worker on a jet ski could be seen approaching the shark and trying to scare it away as locals and holidaymakers watched from the shore.
Many of the sunseekers appeared to wave to friends and family still in the water to come ashore as they used their cellphones to film the events unfolding before their eyes.
The man's actions on the jet ski were criticized by the island's sustainable development organization Coralina, which urged calm after the incident and insisted people should be careful, but had no real cause for concern.
It said: “It is hammerhead sharks that hunt manta rays, they are part of their diet.”
“Humans are not part of the shark diet, much less this species of shark, so people need to be careful.”
“Sharks are an essential part of trophic networks.”
Sandra Escobar, a marine biology expert, added: “It is important that these incidents do not lead to people attacking sharks and viewing them as enemies.”
The drama unfolded Friday at a beach called Spratt Bight, a white-sand beach along the island's main road
Onlookers could be seen watching the shark make its way to the beach
Italian tourist Antonio Roseto Degli Abruzzi, 56, lost a large part of his right thigh after he was bitten by an eight-foot shark while swimming in a popular snorkeling area called La Piscinita on San Andres.
Graphic images published by the local press and on social media at the time showed him lying on his back after the attack, blood dripping from his wound, before being taken to hospital.
He suffered hypovolemic shock and died as a result of severe blood loss.
The shark attack, which occurred on March 18, 2022, was described at the time as the first in the region.
A spokesman for the island's government said: “There are diving programs with professionals where sharks pass nearby, but nothing has ever happened.”
Diving instructor Mirla Zambrano, 50, added: “We are all very surprised.” “It's the first time a shark has attacked a tourist in San Andres.”
The attack was blamed on a tiger shark, which is second only to the great white shark when it comes to fatal incidents involving humans, although these are still extremely rare.
Videos circulating on social media showed the two mostly nocturnal hunters believed to have been involved in the incident swimming in the transparent water that killed the Italian holidaymaker.
Marine biologist Rodrigo Lopez said afterwards: “People are very worried about what happened and they are not letting people into the water.”
“A witness said the man who was attacked was a good swimmer and had been in the sea for quite a while and when he went out a second time after returning to shore he began screaming for help and was surrounded by blood .'
In July last year, Colombian freediver Cristian Castano was bitten by a shark off San Andrés.
He later posted a photo from the hospital showing him giving a thumbs up with his hands and forearms bandaged.
San Andres, about 470 miles north of mainland Colombia, is part of Colombia but is historically linked to the United Kingdom.
English settlers from Barbados and England settled in San Andres and the neighboring island of Providence in the 17th century.
The Welsh privateer Sir Henry Morgan used it as one of his centers of operations in 1670.
After a failed Spanish invasion of the islands in 1635, they were under England's control until 1787.