A team of scuba divers recorded their efforts to save a giant whale shark that had become caught in a thick piece of rope.

Simone Musumeci and Antonio Di Franca, who run a diving tour agency, had taken a group into the waters off the island of Fuvahmulah, Maldives, in December last year.

It was there that they spotted a whale shark with a thick rope tied across its body before filming their attempts to rescue it.

In the underwater footage, the shark, which appears to be more than 12-feet long, can be seen swimming in the distance.

It has a thick, moss-coloured fishing rope tightly binding its body between its head and its pectoral fins.

The clip then cuts to the group desperately clutching on to the rope as they saw away at it with pen-knives.

The giant fish continues to swim through the water, dragging the scuba divers with it.

The divers persevere nonetheless until they are finally able to cut the rope away around ten minutes later and free the helpless shark.

A series of deep indentations and white marks where the rope had been cutting into the shark’s skin can be seen across its back.

The creature beings to swim away as one of the divers reaches out their hand to affectionately touch its fin, which is where the video ends.

The divers held on to the rope and took it back to the surface with them.

Simone, who runs the Macana Maldives tour company, said: ‘While the divers were slowly getting back on the boat, our guide Gianluca, who was on board, shouted “whale shark”.

‘I immediately put my breathing mask back on and looked under the water.

‘I saw a majestic animal swimming towards us with a huge rope around its neck.’

It was then that the team decided to dive in and help.

Simone added: ‘It took us about ten minutes to free the shark, while it dragged us around as we were holding to the rope, to a depth of around fourteen metres.

‘When the rope finally came off, the animal stood still for a moment, as if it realised it was free, then it slowly swam downwards into the depths of the sea.

‘A few moments later it appeared again and swam closer to us like it wanted to thank us.

‘It was one of the most beautiful experiences of our lives and we will never forget it.’

Donatella Moica, marketing and communications director at Macana Maldives, said: ‘We wouldn’t be able to find out how the shark got caught in the rope.

‘Whale sharks travel great distances and it could have happened somewhere far from the Maldives.

‘It surely had been dragging the rope for a while considering the marks around its body.’