Jose Ernestor da Silva (pictured) was attacked yesterday afternoon and had his penis ripped off by a shark as he swam in the sea in Brazil

A teenager who had his penis ripped off by a shark as he swam in the sea in Brazil has died.

Jose Ernestor da Silva was attacked yesterday afternoon while bathing in waters off the Piedade beach near Recife, on Brazil's north-east coast.

The shark struck just as lifeguards stationed on the beach had told the 18-year-old to come closer to the shore.

He died at the Restauracao Hospital in the city of Recife in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, having suffered two heart attacks on the way.

The youngster had his left leg amputated and had veins re-attached to his sexual organs in a three-hour operation as doctors tried to stem his blood loss but the victim died hours later.

He had been ordered by his mother not to go to the beach following a horrendous shark attack in April in which a 34-year-old tourist lost an arm and a leg.

A shocking video taken by a passer-by shows the moment a lifeguard pulled Jose from the sea before emergency crews arrived.

The youngster lies limp and unresponsive on the sand and gasps for air as a concerned helper holds his head and tells him to 'keep breathing', while another lifts his leg in a desperate effort to keep him alive.

Despite undergoing emergency surgery, his penis and femur were 'amputated' by the bite of what is believed to be a tiger shark, according to medics.

The Director General of the hospital, Miguel Arcanjo, told reporters: 'He arrived unconscious, with an extremely serious injury. After the surgery he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit.

'He lost a lot of blood, which was replaced, but he suffered hypovolemic shock and passed away.'

Rodrigo Matias, from Recife's fire department, said Mr Ferreira was swimming with his brother and friends in deep waters near the shore, in an area marked by signs warning of shark attacks.

Seeing that the group was drifting further out, lifeguards called for them to return to shallower waters.

Jose Ernestor da Silva is carried away from the beach after suffering the horrific injuries

Emergency services respond at the beach in north-east Brazil after the tiger shark pounced

He said: 'At the exact moment in which the lifeguards asked for them to come closer to the beach, he was bitten.'

Ambulance medic Wagner Monteiro said Mr Ferreira had a heart attack after arriving at the local Aeronautica Hospital, and another as he was being transported to the Restauracao Hospital in the centre of Recife.

Jose's mother Elisangela dos Anjos, 42, told Brazil's JC Online website that he had gone to the beach without her knowing, and she only knew about after his his brother Ezequiel, who was with him, called her from the beach following the attack.

Speaking from the hospital, she said: 'He would go in secret, because he knew that I thought it was dangerous. I wasn't worried because I thought he was somewhere around the house.

'When I heard about it I went crazy, all the neighbours heard me screaming.'

The victim's father also said his son, who is one of five siblings, went to the beach without telling relatives where he was going.

Jose's mother Elisangela dos Anjos, 42, reacts in shock after her son's horrific shark attack

Locals try to come to the teenager's rescue after the shark attack on Piedade Beach

It is the second time in less than two months that a shark attack has left a swimmer in a critical condition at the same beach in the Jabotao de Guararapes district of greater Recife.

On April 15, 35-year-old Pablo de Melo had to have a leg and a hand amputated after being attacked by a shark at almost the exact same spot.

The holidaymaker was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after being bitten in the arm and leg in waist deep water.

The latest incident is the 65th shark attack registered along the coast of Brazil's Pernambuco state since 1992.

Some 80 per cent of the incidents have occurred along the 18-mile stretch of beach in the region of Recife, a popular holiday resort for foreign tourists.

More than 110 warning signs have been installed along the coastline where the attacks have taken place.