A man has had his penis bitten off by a shark while out swimming with friends in Brazil.
Jose Ernestor da Silva had reportedly been told by lifeguards to come in closer when the attack happened, the Mirror reports.
The 18-year-old man was swimming at the Piedade beach, where crowds of shocked onlookers attempted to help him while waiting for medics to arrive.
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In a clip filmed shortly after the attack, da Silva can be seen lying on the beach, while a man applies pressure to his wound. He was then rushed into hospital, where he is reportedly in a critical condition after also suffering two heart attacks.
One of the medics who took the man to hospital, Wagner Monteiro said:"The shark bite amputated his femur and his penis. He lost a lot of blood and is in a critical condition."
He has since undergone emergency surgery.
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Rodrigo Matias, who works for the local fire department, said the man was swimming with his brother Ezequiel and some pals in an area that is known for shark attacks - and which has signs warning swimmers.
De Silva's mum Elisangela dos Anjos told JC Online her son hadn't told her he was going the beach that day, adding that the first she knew of it was when her other son rang to tell her about the attack.
She said: "He would go in secret, because he knew that I thought it was dangerous. I wasn't worried because I thought he was somewhere around the house.
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"When I heard about it I went crazy, all the neighbours heard me screaming."
An update on the man's condition is expected later today.
Although shark attacks are pretty rare, the injuries can be horrific - earlier this year a man who lost his leg when he was just 18 spoke out about how his encounter with a shark led to him become a conservationist for the animals.
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Mike Coots was out boogie boarding near Hawaii when a tiger shark grabbed him by his right leg and managed to rip it clean off. He said the animal got a hold on him and started throwing him around 'like a piece of meat'.
He said: "I gave it a couple of good punches on the nose then got back on the board. My hand was bloody but I managed to start paddling back to shore. Then my right leg started spasming.
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"I saw something to the side which I thought was the shark. I looked over and it was my severed leg, I was just spurting blood out of the missing limb."
Despite the trauma, he was still brave enough to get back into the sea just three weeks after being mauled.
Mike has since gone on to campaign to save sharks and is an ambassador for the Pew Environment Group. He has even spoken at the United Nations on the subject of shark conservation.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ PRAIA DE PIEDADETopics: World News, Animals, shark