Horror as boy, 16, is decapitated in shark attack while swimming off Jamaica coast

A teenager has been decapitated in a horror shark attack after he went swimming off the Jamaican coast.

Jahmari Reid's body was reportedly found with his head missing and his left arm bitten off.

The 16-year-old had gone spearfishing near the popular tourist town of Montego Bay on Monday, according to local police. 

The high school student vanished after going out into the water by himself and his mauled body was recovered on Tuesday. 

His heartbroken father, Michael Reid, was on the beach when divers brought his son's remains back to land.

'I can't believe that he went to sea by himself yesterday [Monday] and that was the outcome. Sad to know. I feel so bad,' he told Jamaican media.

The taxi driver said he had often tried to discourage his son from his spearfishing hobby, and that they often argued about him going out. 

Pictures from the scene showed scores of horrified locals gathering at the beach in the town of Falmouth on the island's northern coast.

Fisherman Christopher Reynolds said a group of divers had found Jahmari's body after they launched a search for him on Tuesday morning.

He said that the group had spotted a massive tiger shark near where the body was located shortly after they found a detached arm in the water.

'All of the fisherman went out there and, while they were diving to take him up, they saw the big shark. They shot at him but they didn't get him,' he told the Jamaican Observer.

He added that they hoped to find and kill the shark and recover the boy's missing severed head from inside it.

The head of a local fisherman's association said that this was the first time in recent history that someone had been killed by a shark in local waters.

Fritz Christie suggested that the shark might have followed a cruise ship into Falmouth bay, and warned spearfishers to exercise extreme caution when large vessels come in.

'What we have to do is make certain when the ships come to be careful of the diving. The shark eat off the man head, eat off one of his hand. It's crazy, man,' Christie said. 

Falmouth police are reported to be investigating the tragedy. 

Shark attacks are extremely rare in Jamaica, with only three unprovoked attacks reported since 1749, according to the the International Shark Attack File.

The most common shark in Jamaica is a nurse shark, which is docile and usually stays near the seabed.

Caribbean reef sharks, tiger sharks, hammerheads, and bull sharks have also been seen in Jamaican waters.