VIDEO | Diver thought shark attack would kill him, so he recorded a video saying goodbye

A man filmed what he thought were his last moments after a shark attacked him at the 1770 Beach in Queensland, Australia. However, Matteo Mariotti survived and uploaded the video of the bloody shark attack on his Instagram handle.

"I started this video a few moments after the last bite. I wanted to say goodbye. I never thought I'd survive that monster," the 20-year-old from Italy wrote on Instagram on Monday (Dec 11), four days after the attack.

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The creature attacked Mariotti as he was snorkelling off the coast. When he realised that the shark had severely injured him, tearing his clothes, he pulled out his GoPro camera and started recording himself. The video shows that the water around him was bloody as he was swimming towards the shore.

As he neared the beach, he said, "I beg you to help me. Pull me out of the water," to a friend at the shore.

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Mariotti is a student of marine biology in Australia. He lost half of his right leg and suffered bites to his left during the shark attack. He thought the shark would attack him again, he told Italian newspaper Gazzetta Di Parma.

"It probably prevented him from attacking me again," he said, adding that he was "really afraid" the creature would do so.

Martin Kelly, a senior operations supervisor with the Queensland Ambulance Service, told NBC News on Wednesday that it was "one of the most serious injuries" he had ever seen. "When you get this type of injury that severe, often people do pass away," he said.

Metro North Hospital and Health Service in Brisbane, where Mariotti is receiving treatment, confirmed that he was in stable condition in a statement on Tuesday. However, they did not give details out of privacy and confidentiality.

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After he posted the video on Instagram, he has received supportive comments. Furthermore, a GoFundMe webpage has raised over $50,000 for his medical care.

According to the Florida Museum, which keeps track of all known shark attacks worldwide, there were 57 unprovoked shark attacks in 2022, out of which five were fatal. The database also said that Australia was second to the United States in the number of shark attacks.

According to Kelly, sharks feed in the morning or afternoon as the water temperature is lower. "There are places you just need to be careful [as] you're in their environment, and you need to respect this fact," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)