Terrifying drone footage off the shore of Miami Beach shows beach-goers unsuspectingly swimming with a tiger shark. The seven to nine foot tiger shark swam close to shore near 4th Street.

The frightening footage was captured by photographer Kenny Melendez, who told GrindTV he was showing two clients how the camera drone works when he caught sight of the shark on 24 November.

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"As I flew the drone closer, I realised it was a large shark," he told GrindTV in an email. Melendez said he believed it to be a tiger shark based on the stripes visible on its body. "I got closer and noticed the striped pattern and knew immediately it was a tiger shark."

After seeing the shark and swimmers in the same frame, he realised just how big the sea creature was, around seven to nine feet (approximately two to three metres).

Both the shark and the swimmers seem unfazed by each other's presence. "I was shocked to see how close the shark got to the man, and it didn't seem to care at all that the swimmer was in its path," he said.

"The man standing in the water didn't seem to notice the shark, despite its size. He was most likely distracted by the noise of the drone, as you can see him looking up, and probably couldn't see the shark himself," Melendez continued.

"After he loops up at the drone, I noticed him walking closer to the shore/the shark, and without any panic, making me believe he didn't spot the tiger shark."

The shark eventually swam off without incident, CBS Miami reported.