GREAT BITE
Shocking moment massive 220lb shark takes chunk out of snorkeler in horror attack while swimming in Maldives
THIS is the shocking moment a massive 220lb shark took a chunk out of a snorkeler - who found the beast's TEETH embedded in her side.
Carmen Canovas Cervello, 30, was left with a gnarly six-inch wound after the attack as she swam in the turquoise waters of the Maldives.
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She had been exploring the shark bay at Vaavu Atoll with her underwater photographer pal Ibrahim Shafeeg, 37, when she was bitten.
The pair were filming their below-surface adventure when they stumbled across around ten nurse sharks swimming freely.
The friends, both donning scuba-diving gear, enjoyed a dip with the three-metre-wide beasts for over 45 minutes - until one got too close for comfort.
In a bid to assert its dominance over its territory, one of the creatures suddenly clamped its jaws on Carmen's shoulder and upper back.
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Despite clinging on for only a brief moment, the shark managed to do some serious damage and left a bite mark spanning around six inches in diameter.
Incredibly, the entirety of the terrifying attack was captured on Ibrahim's GoPro Hero 9, which he was filming sea creatures with.
The friends both jumped out of the water immediately to assess Carmen's wounds while cleaning it up - and removing the sharks' teeth from her side.
But after the nurse and her freediver pal both deemed the bite a minor injury, the daredevil duo dived straight back in.
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They were confident the shark only struck because it thought they were getting too close and decided not to let it ruin their day of snorkeling.
Carmen continued to enjoy her splash in the shark-infested waters and didn't feel as though she needed medical treatment.
She and Ibrahim went on to dive for several days, leaving the bite to heal on its own.
Despite it being her first fiery encounter with a shark, Carmen hasn't been deterred from the dangerous activity.
Ibrahim said of the incident: "We were in the shark bay at Vaavu Atoll diving with nurse sharks.
"We decided to do a free dive trip to shark bay and snorkel inside a group of sharks there.
"There were around ten nurse sharks, from 198-pounds to 220-pounds and over three-metres wide.
"After the shark bite, we thought nothing major about it as it was only a minor injury so we cleaned the wound and continued snorkeling at the same spot again."
Nurse sharks are common in the Vaavu Atoll region of the Maldives, as it is a popular place for the beasts to seek food from the different tourist attractions surrounding the area.
The species are usually non-aggressive and have been known to swim away when approached.
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However, if they are provoked in any way, their bite can be life-threatening due to their extremely sharp teeth and strong jaw.
According to reports before 2022, there were around 51 provoked and five unprovoked attacks from nurse sharks.
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