There are many people who have a love/hate relationship with the monsters of the deep blue sea: sharks.
Despite their scary appearance and bad rep, sharks are gorgeous creatures we become completely fascinated with every year during shark week. But don't forget that they are predators, so it's important to be extra cautious when taking a dip in the ocean after shark sightings are reported.
However, despite how unsettling sharks can be, there is this belief that coming face-to-face with them is safe when a person is in a diving cage. This is actually an extremely popular excursion when on vacation - a chance to get a close encounter while knowing that a shark can't come and swallow us whole with just one bite.
But it appears that the safety of these steel cages is just an illusion.
That's because there is a video that has gone viral that captures a great white shark breaking through the cage with the diver still inside it.
The incident happened during a shark cage diving trip off the coast of Mexico's Guadalupe Island last week.
Those on the trip experienced the rare event of a shark breaching with their very own eyes. But many are probably thinking they are lucky to have made it out alive after watching the video.
From the perspective of someone on the boat, the great white can be seen shaking the steel cage as it finds its way inside. A man on board the boat opens the top of cage and the shark breaches, lunging its entire body body forward and out.
While this sight is enough to be terrifying, what viewers hear and see next will give them the chills.
The men are heard asking if there is anyone inside the cage. There is speculation that there is no one, but then they realize that there actually was a diver in there.
Just when we think there would be - gulp - no survivors, a diver surfaces and safely exits. He does come up with a camera in hand, but unfortunately this clip doesn't give his perspective of the almost-deadly encounter.
The YouTuber who posted the video revealed that while it seems like the shark was trying to attack the cage, it actually was aiming at chunks of tuna that were tied to a rope.
"When a great white shark lunges and bites something, it is temporarily blinded," he writes. "They also cannot swim backward. So this shark lunged at the bait, accidentally hit the side of the cage, was most likely confused and not able to swim backwards, it thrust forward and broke the metal rail of the cage."
While this experience might give any nightmares, the diver is an experienced instructor and remained claim, walking away uninjured and not becoming shark bait. Oooh la la.
Check out the viral video below.
