Horror: 16-year-old boy beheaded in shark attack off Jamaica's coast

A teenager was decapitated in a horrific shark attack after going swimming off the coast of Jamaica.

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

According to local police, the 16-year-old was spearfishing near the popular tourist resort of Montego Bay on Monday.

The high school student disappeared after entering the water alone, and his mangled body was recovered on Tuesday.

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

The high school student is pictured with his father, taxi driver Michael Reid.

“I can’t believe he went to sea alone yesterday [Monday] and this was the result. Sad to know. I feel so bad,” he told Jamaican media.

The taxi driver said he often tried to dissuade his son from his spearfishing hobby and they often argued when he went out.

Images from the scene show dozens of horrified locals gathered on the beach in the town of Falmouth on the island's north coast.

Fisherman Christopher Reynolds said a team of divers found Jahmari's body after they began searching for him on Tuesday morning.

He said the group spotted a giant tiger shark near the body shortly after finding a severed arm in the water.

“All the fishermen went there and while they were diving to pull it up, they saw the big shark. They shot at it but they didn't catch it,” he told the Jamaican Observer.

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

Locals from the town of Falmouth gathered on the beach when the body was recovered

The attack occurred off the beach in the north coast town of Falmouth

The chairman of a local fishing association said this was the first time in recent history that a person had been killed by a shark in local waters.

Fritz Christie suspected that the shark may have followed a cruise ship into Falmouth Bay and warned spearfishermen to exercise extreme caution when approaching large vessels.

“We have to make sure that when the ships come in we are careful when we dive. The shark eats the man's head off, eats his hand off. That's crazy, man,” Christie said.

Falmouth Police are reportedly investigating the tragedy.

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

The most common shark in Jamaica is the nurse shark, which is calm and usually stays near the sea floor.

Caribbean reef sharks, tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks and bull sharks have also been spotted in Jamaican waters.