Man killed by shark after wading into sea in Brazil

Since 1992, there have been 62 shark attacks with 25 fatalities in Jaboatao dos Guararapes in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.

‘Problem sharks’ exist among species such as bull and tiger sharks (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A drunken man was mauled to death by a shark after entering the sea to urinate at a Brazilian beach.

Local media said the predator bit off Marcelo Rocha Santos’s hand and a chunk of his leg at Piedade Beach in Jaboatao dos Guararapes in northeastern Brazil on  Saturday.

The victim was lying unconscious on the beach after he was carried to safety by his friends. He was surrounded by shocked bystanders and pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in Recife.

The incident is believed to have happened in the afternoon when the seas were turbulent, and the water turned cloudy, local media said.

A lifeguard was on duty at the time but was unable to prevent the attack from taking place. Twelve other shark attacks happened in the same area of the beach previously.

Despite signboards warning about shark attacks, the lifeguard on duty did not summon the two men out of the water as they were only up to their waists.

Mechanic Edriano Gomes told reporters that Santos, 51, had been drinking with friends.

“It was a friend of mine who was in the sea with the person who was attacked. Suddenly, he saw the man struggling,” Gomes said.

“There was a lot of blood in the water,” he added.

When the shark attacked, only the victim and the other person who escaped unharmed were in the water at the time.

Ademir Sebastiao da Silva, a fellow swimmer told reporters, “As the beach has no bathroom, I went into the sea to pee. I was beside him with the water up to our waists.”

Shark attacks are frequent at this time of year as the rains make the sea murky.

Since 1992, there have been 62 shark attacks with 25 fatalities in Jaboatao dos Guararapes in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.

The exact species of a shark that attacked him is unknown, though experts think there is a strong possibility it could be a bull shark or a tiger shark.