Huge fish tries to bite mermaid's head off during show in China, leaving children screaming

The incident took place at the Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park in the city of Xishuangban, in China's southwestern Yunnan Province, on January 28.

The footage shows the performer, named only as Russian national Masha, 22, swimming gracefully in a bikini top and with a mermaid tail, in an aquarium full of fish as visitors watch the show.

But as she swims upwards, she ends up in the path of a large fish that appears to be a sturgeon, which can grow up to 20 feet in length and have been known to sometimes attack humans, coming her way.

The fish suddenly bites her head, causing her to immediately fight back. She escapes its powerful jaws, which rip her goggles off, and hastily swims towards the surface as children scream.

Russian media said that the young woman said that her head, neck and eye were badly injured, with a photograph showing her injured face after the attack.

She also said that her employers had only paid her 700 Chinese yen (£77.65) in compensation for her injuries following the shocking attack.

Reports also said that the park's management forbade Masha from talking about the incident. Her employers repeatedly called her and warned her that she should not post videos of the fish attack online.

The images were shared on Douyin, which is what TikTok is called in China, where they quickly made the rounds. One netizen joked: "It's normal to have some conflicts between colleagues.”

While another said: "If it was a shark, she would probably be bleeding."

And one netizen speculated: "I feel like this girl won't be working as a mermaid anymore."

Story: NewsX