ISLAMORADA (USA)- Foreign exchange students who were exploring the underwater beauty of Florida at Alligator Reef were suddenly yelled out of the water when all of a sudden a 4 meter big great white came cruising by.

Under water suddenly the barracudas ran away. Franco Sorvetto, one of the exchange program organizers, saw it then — a great white shark only 7 meters away. Ten people were in the water when Sorvetto turned to his wife Christeen Pozniak and told her he saw a shark.

“I put my head under and saw a big black shadow, an outline of what looked like a shark, and that’s when we alerted the others,” Pozniak said to the Sun Sentinel.

The 10 snorkelers beat a hasty retreat, back to their catamaran. They were approximately 75 feet away. The ship’s captain and first mate were aware of the lurking danger and they extended a ladder into the water, about 15 feet in depth, and helped pull everyone aboard.

The captain then dove in the water himself to verify that it was indeed a great white and to record video, which he then posted to YouTube.

Undeterred by their brush with one of nature’s most perfect predators, the students, host parents, and volunteers continued their snorkeling, but in shallow waters on the opposite side of the island.

See the video