A DRUNK man was mauled to death by a shark after walking into the sea to pee on a Brazilian beach.
Marcelo Rocha Santos, 51, had reportedly been drinking with friends before he entered the water and was fatally bitten by the vicious animal.
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Marcelo Rocha Santos died after having his arm and leg devoured by a shark Credit: Newsflash 3
Armacao da Piedade Beach, where the fatal attack occurred Credit: Alamy
A bystander filmed the body of the victim as he lay motionless on the sand soon after his dip. He was suffering gruesome injuries that included a missing hand and a chunk bitten out of his leg.
Santos was rushed to hospital in the neighbouring city of Recife, where he arrived without vital signs and was pronounced dead.
The grisly attack occurred around 2pm on Saturday, at Piedade Beach in the Brazilian city of Jaboatao dos Guararapes.
The beach is said to be a shark-attack hotspot, as it is open and unprotected by reefs.
While a lifeguard was on duty at the time, he had not been able to prevent the attack from taking place.
Mechanic Edriano Gomes, told local reporters that Santos had entered the water around 2 pm, when the weather had gone cloudy and the sea was becoming choppy.
"It was a friend of mine who was in the sea with the person who was attacked," Gomes said.
"Suddenly, he saw the man struggling.
“There was a lot of blood in the water."
Only the victim and the other person who escaped unharmed were in the water at the time of the attack.
The other person in the water, glazier Ademir Sebastiao da Silva, told reporters that the pair had entered the water to pee, as the beach had no bathroom.
“I was beside him with the water up to our waists,” Sebastiao da Silva said.
Marcelo's friends brought the victim to shore, where he fell to the ground unconscious.
While it was not known what kind of shark attacked him, experts say it was likely a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) or a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier).
Shark attacks were also more common at this time of year as the rains make the sea murky.
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While the beach was reportedly dotted with various signs warning people not to enter the water, it was thought that the lifeguard on duty did not tell the two men to get out of the sea - as they were only up to their waists.
In the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, where Jaboatao dos Guararapes is located and which has around 187 kilometres (116 mi) of coast, there have been 62 shark attacks with 25 fatalities since 1992.
The frequency of attacks was thought to have fallen from this point, when building works at Suape Port began to disrupt the animals' breeding and hunting habits.
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The beach is said to be a shark-attack hotspot, as it is open and unprotected by reefs Credit: Alamy