Terrifying footage of a giant fish attacking a young mermaid performer in China's aquarium is going viral on social media. The incident took place at the Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park in southern China.
The clip shows a Russian performer, Masha, dressed as a mermaid, swimming in an aquarium tank. While she was swimming, she waved at families nearby as fish swam around her. As she starts moving towards the surface of the water, a giant fish appears above her head.
The fish quickly grabs her face with its large jaws, almost swallowing it whole. Children and other people screamed in fear as it all happened.
According to reports, the giant fish ate 22-year-old Masha's goggles, and nose clips, and caused injuries to her neck, head and eye.
Woman performing as a mermaid bitten by a sturgeon in a Chinese Aquarium. pic.twitter.com/LTDSioBve3
— Game of X (@froggyups) January 29, 2025
The freshwater aquarium features native species from the Mekong and Yangtze rivers, as well as rare amphibians. However, the attack reports did not specify the species of fish.
As per The New York Post, the performer was reportedly offered $100 in "moral damages" after the bite and forbidden to speak out about the incident. Masha also said that she was soon forced back into the water to perform despite being in pain.
Last year, 20-year-old diver Angus Kockott and his friend Declan were practising freediving near Mangareva in the Gambier Islands. While Declan was tossing weights into the ocean, Angus noticed a two-and-a-half-meter shark approaching. The shark quickly clamped onto his arm, shredding it in seconds.
In 2016, a rare video showed an eight-year-old sand tiger shark swallowing a smaller one at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul.
