TERRIFYING footage shows the moment a group of fishermen wrestled a great white shark back into the water after catching it.
An enormous 13-foot creature was captured by skilled fishermen Luke Beard and Jason Rosenfeld in Frisco on Hatteras Island, just off the coast of North Carolina.
The duo was patiently waiting for a catch over the weekend when they suddenly had to spring into action. Quickly, several others rushed to their aid as they successfully reeled in the top predator, weighing around 1,800 pounds.
Footage from the 35-minute ordeal showed the moment the group of men wrestled the beast back into the water.
Three of the men took hold of its tail while a fourth grasped its dorsal fin, all of them keenly aware of steering clear of the shark’s lethal jaws equipped with rows of razor-sharp teeth.
As they struggled to budge the creature, two other fishermen ran over to help push the animal further into the water, away from the shore.
They were hit with sudden panic when a wave rolled in and pushed the beast back towards them.
A number of the fishermen ran back up the beach as one brave man held on.
On his own, he managed to push the animal away into deeper water and the grateful shark quickly swam off.
Once it was clear the shark had no interest in them, the group of men raised their arms in the air in celebration of the rescue effort.
One even threw himself down into the waves and raises his hands to his head in disbelief.
Fisherman Luke Beard who shared the footage, said it was an extraordinary moment.
He told WRAL: “It’s breathtaking seeing a 12-to-13-foot, 1,400-to-1,800-pound animal jump out of the water on the hook set.
“There have been a few great whites caught in North Carolina. None of them have been as big as that one.”
The pair had gone out that day with the hopes of “catching something big”, Rosenfeld told Fox News, always with the intention of releasing it, but a great white was not in their plans.
“I set hook on the fish and it just felt different,” Beard said, going on to explain that “there’s no delay” when it comes to releasing the animals.
“It’s such a small window of time and you have to be super accurate with what you are doing.
“I was about in tears when we released that fish because you never know if you’re going to be able to do that in your lifetime.
“It gives me chills even thinking about it. It was unbelievable.”
The fisherman later shared a photo of an injury he sustained in the shocking release operation.
He shared a picture of a severely grazed and red-raw thigh where his leg rubbed against the rough skin of the apex predator.
Beard wrote: “3 and 1/2 days later White shark rash. It sucks, but it’s totally worth it!”
Images shared online reveal that the two men have previously managed to reel in a Hammerhead shark and a Spotted Eagle Ray in Frisco.
The Sun previously reported on Curtis Miller, a British dad who was left bloodied after being bitten by a 300lb shark while on a fishing trip with pals in South Africa.
The 30-year-old suffered deep wounds to his arm as the beast tore open three of his arteries.
