Heart-pounding footage shared on social media shows the moments after 20-year-old Matteo Mariotti, an Italian student from Parma, was set upon by the creature last Friday at the remote 1770 beach some 80 miles north of Bundaberg. He was only able to escape after his friend and diving instructor, Tommaso Agosti, swiftly dragged him ashore and attempted to calm Mariotti’s breathing while staunching the bleeding as help arrived. Mariotti was rushed to hospital to undergo surgery, yet after several attempts, doctors were unable to save his leg and were forced to amputate it below the knee.
