This is the heart-stopping moment a determined passerby came to the rescue of a struggling shark, which had become tangled in a fisherman’s cast net.
In the dramatic footage, the black-tip shark thrashes around on the sands of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, while Mike Phillips, manager of a nearby pier, attempts to pull the net off the fish.
The moment was captured by Hilson Atkins, who said that the shark had become trapped in a fisherman’s net, and who then himself tried to help get the shark free.
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After seeing the shark struggle for around 15 minutes, Hilson, 48, worked with the fisherman to at least get the tangled shark from the middle of the pier to the beach.
Having kept the shark submerged in water until help arrived, Hilson then captured the moment Mike – who runs Second Avenue Pier at the beach – came to the shark’s aid.
After removing the netting, hero Mike managed to pull the freed shark back into the waters on September 9, before bravely keeping ahold of the shark’s tail, moving it around until the shark could swim under its own strength.
Hilson said: “The shark was in dire distress and was barely moving.
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“Mike grabbed his tail and pulled him back into the ocean – he had to hold him and guide him back and forth until the shark could move on his own power.
“Mike did an outstanding job getting the shark back to strength to swim back into the ocean.
“The shark would have possibly died if the net was left on him.”