A heart-stopping video has captured the moment beachgoers scrambled to flee the water off the coast of Portugal after coming into close quarters with a shark.
Locals and holidaymakers at Praia Beach in the Atlantic resort city of Espinho were forced to clear the sea after the blue shark came close to shore on July 19.
In the clip, children were seen gathering near the shoreline and shouting 'shark' as one brave bloke turned his back on it and walked slowly in knee-deep water towards the beach.
READ MORE: Holidaymakers shriek in horror as sharks appear in the shallows at popular beach
Lifeguards observing the threatening beast saw it eventually swimming back out into deeper water before it disappeared.
Sun-seekers have since been allowed back into the water after it left the area.
There has been a steep increase in sightings off the Spanish coast this summer.
On July 16, people were left shrieking in terror after spotting deadly sharks lurking in the water just metres away from swimmers off the coast of a popular resort.
A clip captured the moment tourists were screaming as two deadly blue sharks turned up off the coast of Portbou in Catalonia, Spain.
Swimmers had rushed to get out of the water after spotting the sharp-toothed predators — with some taking refuge on a platform in the sea and others heading back to shore.
Despite the panic after the footage was shared on social media, Portbou mayor Gael Rodrigues stated: "Portbou beach is completely safe."
He added blue sharks are often spotted off beaches in the municipality because they are native to the area.
No one was reported to have died or sustained injuries during the encounter.
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But Brits have even been encountering deadly ocean predators this summer as a swimmer came face-to-face with a 20ft shark after twice ignoring warnings from onlookers.
A group of lads were out on the water off the Gwynedd coast when, one of them spotted a dark, menacing shape in the water beneath them.
The massive creature, which was estimated to be 20ft long, moved slowly through the water. It was later identified as a basking shark.
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