A young mother had tragically died after having her leg bitten off by a shark as she fought to save her five-year-old daughter.
The woman, who has been identified locally as 26-year-old Maria Fernandez Martinez Jimenez, had been swimming in the ocean off the coast of Mexico when she reportedly became aware of a shark in the water.
She rushed to get her five-year-old daughter up onto a floating play platform located 75 feet from the shore according to Rafael Araiza, the head of the local defense office, as reported by the New York Post.
Jimenez had just managed to get her child safely onto the platform when the shark attacked her, clamping its jaws around her leg near her hip and causing her to bleed out.
Tragically, despite rescuers quickly responding and getting her back to the shore, Jimenez died from extensive blood loss from the huge bite wound, while her daughter escaped unharmed.
It's not yet known which species of shark was responsible for the attack, distressing footage of which was caught on camera by onlookers on the beach.
In a video captured by a beachgoer, rescuers were seen carrying Jimenez out of the water and onto the shore in the town of Melaque on Saturday, before she was seen sprawled on the sand.
Bystanders could be heard shouting off-camera: "She’s lost her leg."
The mother was a former marine biology student at the University of Guadalajara and had lived in the western state of Jalisco.
Law enforcement shut down the beach in the aftermath of the horrifying incident, as well as nearby seaside areas in Melaque and Barra de Navidad as a precaution.
Civil Protection officials in the municipality of Cihuatlan also stated that a swimming race had been taking place nearby at the time of the attack.
They said in a statement: "Our officials were carrying out support activities during a swimming event in the bay when they received reports of a person who was having problems getting out of the sea.
"When they reached the area they discovered a woman who was lifeless with one of her legs amputated, apparently following a shark attack."
Shark attacks are thankfully pretty rare in Mexico, with only 40 attacks being reported in a 450-year period, according to CancunCare.
Fatal shark attacks are even rarer still, with only five or six reported per year worldwide, with most of these occurring in Australia.
Our thoughts remain with Jimenez's family and friends at this heartbreaking time.
Featured image credit: Taken by Andrew Thirlwell/Getty Images
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