Young spear fisherman survives shark attack in Bahamas

As the rapid fire of a single word punctured the quiet of their surrounds, a group of young spear fisherman knew one of them was in trouble.

US student Zach Shipps was freediving and spearfishing with friends in Abaco in the Bahamas in August when a reef shark zeroed in on his friend Will Krause just metres below.

Krause was almost eight metres below the surface when the 2m shark struck the back of his head and neck.

In footage of the incident, which Shipps filmed on a GoPro attached to his wetsuit, he can be seen watching on helplessly as the shark circles his friend before attacking.

As the brute bites down, Shipps frantically makes his way to the water’s surface - a sickening swirl of air bubbles left in his wake.

“Shark, shark, shark,” Shipps bellows towards his group before allowing himself to take another breath.

As fellow spearfisherman search about them, Shipps and another diver ducks back under the water scanning the depths below.

When Shipps surfaces again, Krause is gingerly swimming towards their boat.

“You alright?” Shipps calls out to Krause, who is grabbing the back of his head.

After Krause was hauled on board those remaining in the water piled in behind him.

While the extent of Krause’s injuries was not immediately known, a photo taken of the Florida native on the dock shows him with a bandaged head and a blood-soaked shirt.

Despite Krause’s remarkable encounter with the shark occurring months ago, the video went viral this week after posting a Thanksgiving message on Facebook.

“I miraculously escaped with several stitches, some gnarly scars and a viral GoPro video,” he wrote in the post.