Boy, 13, tragically mauled to death by shark at popular tourist beach

A 13-year-old boy was tragically mauled to death by a shark at a popular tourist beach in Brazil. 

The teen — identified as Deivson Rocha Dantas — was swimming at Del Chifre Beach near the city of Recife on the afternoon of Jan. 29, according to local outlets.

Dantas had been bitten by a shark on his right thigh, before suffering cardiorespiratory arrest, Levy Dalton, the teen’s treating doctor said, according to UOL Notícias Brasil. 

Lídia Emanuelle, cousin of shark attack victim Deivson Rocha Dantas. Globo News

Dantas suffered a severe bite to his right thigh, causing massive blood loss and cardiac arrest. Globo News

The boy was transported to Tricentenário Hospital in Bairro Novo after the attack, but had died by the time he arrived at the hospital. 

The teen’s cousin, Lídia Emanuele, told local outlet TV Globo that Dantas had been pulled from the water by his friends after the attack.

“[The shark] ate almost his entire leg. We called the ambulance, but they didn’t arrive in time,” Emanuele told the station. 

“Unfortunately, we were unable to resuscitate him,” Dalton told reporters. “Unfortunately we couldn’t do much for him.”

Dalton noted that the teen had a ‘fairly extensive injury to an artery in his lower limb,’ and likely lost a lot of blood due to the extensive nature of the injury — which ultimately led to his death.

Dantas had reportedly been playing with friends in the ocean before the attack and had left home without his mother knowing, according to G1.