Watch: Shark bites woman in July 4 attack on Texas beach

A woman was left with a gaping wound in her leg after becoming one of four people attacked by a shark on US Independence Day.

Video footage shows the dorsal fin of a shark disappearing beneath waves off the coast of South Padre Island, Texas, as rescuers attend to the victim on the beach.

As the woman was hauled ashore, the water around her turned dark red due to the blood flowing from her injury.

She was one of four victims of shark attacks reported in the US on July 4, a holiday when many thousands of Americans traditionally flock to the nation’s beaches.

Two other people were bitten close to South Padre Island, which is near Brownsville, Texas before the shark suspected of carrying out the attacks was forced into deeper water.

A 21-year-old man was bitten by a shark near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, while he was playing American football in knee-deep water.

The most severe attack, however, appeared to be on the woman seen in the video footage.

‘Shredded’

Kyle Jud, 46, a passerby who was on the beach when the attack happened, said: “Beach patrol lifted her up – her calf was just gone, shredded. Horrific.”

Police initially responded to an emergency call at 11.00am reporting “a severe shark bite to the leg”, Nikki Soto, the city spokesperson told NBC News. The victim was taken to a local hospital.

Later in the day, emergency services received a second call about a shark attack in South Padre Island. Firefighters found two people had been bitten and both were taken to hospital.

Jim Pigg, the local fire chief, said the shark was later located and “pushed out to deeper water”.

He said there had been no further sightings since but lifeguards were encouraging beach-goers to stay out of the water or at least to go no further than knee-deep.

Patrick McNulty, the mayor of South Padre Island said: “Our hearts and prayers are with the injured and their families and we hope for a speedy recovery.”

The Florida victim, who was visiting the Atlantic coastal beach of New Smyrna from Ohio, was taken to a hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

There were 36 unprovoked shark attacks against humans in the US last year resulting in two deaths, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s international shark attack file.