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Massive manta ray photobombs surfer at Florida beach

The photo was ‘pure luck’

A manta ray photobombed a surfer at Satellite Beach on March 14, 2021. (Courtesy of Rusty Escandell)

SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. – A photographer accidentally snapped “one in a million” shot at Officers Club Beach in Florida over the weekend.

Rusty Escandell captured the incredible moment when a giant manta ray did a back flip behind a surfer who was riding a wave.

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Escandell told WKMG that he was at the beach Sunday with his son, near Patrick Space Force Base, and didn’t even realize what happened.

“To be frank with you, I was actually focusing on the surfer. I was doing a burst, catching several frames, and it wasn’t until I got home and I was reviewing the pictures that I actually saw what was happening in the background,” Escandell said.

Escandell posted the photo to Facebook and received dozens of likes, shares and comments on his own profile and then got hundreds more when the Satellite Beach page shared the snapshot.

Click here to read more.

‘I was pretty amazed:’ Massive manta ray photobombs surfer at Florida beach