Chilling moment young couple accidentally film ‘Canadian’ tourist, 76, being killed in terrifying ‘shark attack’ just meters away as they frolic on a Mexican beach with their toddler

A young couple accidentally filmed the horrific moment a Canadian tourist was killed in a ‘shark attack’ on a beach in Mexico.

Joseph ‘Jeff’ Bynens, 76, was swimming in the sea when he was attacked by the predator on December 14.

According to reports, he was rescued from the water with most of his leg missing and died of excessive blood loss on the beach in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo.

Initial reports suggested Bynens had been killed by a shark, but his injuries led authorities to suspect it may have been a crocodile. His female partner was also attacked by the same animal and is currently being treated at an area hospital.

A video of a young mother playing with her daughter on the beach apparently captured Bynens’ final moments. Officials say the clip may help shed light on what type of animal attacked him.

The clip shows Marlene Luviano playing at the beach with her toddler daughter last week. She had asked her partner to film the beach visit because it was their daughter’s birthday.

In the background, Bynens can be seen swimming towards a buoy and waving his arm in the air for help before being dragged under the waves, presumably by the marine predator.

Luviano realized something was wrong and leads her daughter away from the shore. She then asks her partner to stop filming.

“We were enjoying the morning on the beach and then we heard something in the sea,” she explained.

By the time the victim was rescued from the sea, he had already “bled to death,” according to Luviano.

She said: ‘When they dragged him out of the sea the wound was already clearly visible. I noticed that there was no more blood coming out.’

Authorities are still investigating whether Bynens was killed by a shark or a crocodile.

Local press has reported that Bynens was from Canada, while other officials claimed the tourist was from Hasselt, Belgium.

His death came just minutes after a 52-year-old Los Angeles woman was seriously injured after being bitten by a shark or crocodile in a separate attack along Mexico’s Pacific coast.

The civil defense agency in the southern state of Guerrero reported that the 76-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were both bitten on the legs by an unknown animal.

Los Angeles native Valerie Haurowitz was bitten on the legs around 9:15 a.m. in Playa Quieta, close to a hotel, in the Zihuatanejo neighborhood, according to local reports.

About five minutes later the same animal struck again, this time fatally.

The man was reported dead at the scene, while the woman was taken to a hospital where she is expected to recover.

Both sharks and crocodiles inhabit the area. El Pais reports that civil protection is looking for a shark, but has not ruled out a crocodile as the culprit.

However, Zihuatanejo Mayor Jorge Sanchez Allec said the victims’ bites led him to believe a crocodile was responsible.

According to a report, the tourist’s leg was ripped off by the creature. That report said the man’s wife told authorities a shark was responsible.

Playa Quieta was closed in the aftermath of the horrific attack while the navy searched the waters for the animal. Witnesses reported seeing drones deployed.

The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (Semaren), Ángel Almazán Juárez, told the media that shark sightings are rare in the region.

Last Friday, a crocodile was spotted on El Palmar beach, about six kilometers south of where the fatal attack took place.

Stunning footage showed the moment the crocodile entered the beach last week, scaring visitors and forcing a lifeguard to lead the creature back to the sea.

In early December, a Mexican woman died after being seriously bitten on the leg by a shark near the seaside resort of Melaque, west of the seaport of Manzanillo.

Graphic video appeared to show the aftermath of the attack as María Fernanda Martínez Jiménez, whose leg was torn off, lay on the sand after being helped out of the water at Melaque Beach in Jalisco state.

Shocked onlookers could be heard on Saturday morning as they waited for emergency services to arrive. “She lost her leg.”

The 26-year-old was carried to shore by three beachgoers but died just minutes later from blood loss from a massive bite wound.

Local reports say Martínez Jiménez helped her daughter to safety by placing her on a floating platform after becoming aware she was in danger as the pair swam 20 meters from the beach.

Local authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the attack and evaluate security measures in the coastal area.

In 2019, an American diver survived a shark bite to the forearm in Magdalena Bay off the coast of Baja California Sur.

According to the International Shark File, there have been forty shark attacks in Mexico since 1907, twelve of them in Guerrero.