Unseen footage has emerged showing the moment a drone camera gets wiped out by a truly monster wave while filming a professional surfer up close during one of the biggest swells of the season.

In the previously unseen footage, filmed on January 18, 32-year-old German Sebastian Steudtner catches one of the biggest waves of the season at Praia do Norte beach near Nazaré, Portugal.

Local drone camera team Máquina Voadora - Produções captured Steudtner attempting to ride the wave and his subsequent recovery up close, flying at very low altitude.

So low in fact that the team almost lost their drone in the process as it gets swallowed up in a monster wave.

This swell originated from a North Atlantic storm and produced some of the biggest and heaviest waves the town has seen in years, reaching the 80ft mark on January 18.

Praia do Norte beach has become famous for huge waves since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara set a then-record in 2011 for the largest wave ever surfed, when he rode a 78-foot wave.

New drone footage just emerged of one of the biggest waves of the season in Nazaré, Portugal.

Professional Big Wave Surfer, Sebastian Steudtner catches one of the Biggest Waves of the season during a recent Giant Swell in Praia do Norte, Nazaré Portugal.

Local Drone team “Máquina Voadora - Produções” captures the wave and the successful rescue from a close angle, flying at very low altitude and almost losing their drone in the process.

The resulting footage is quite overwhelming and spectacular.

Sebastian Steudtner, 32 years old, is a Professional Big Wave Surfer from Germany and one of the top Big Riders worldwide, Steudtner is a two-times winner of the WSL Biggest Wave Award, a prize won both in the 2010 and 2015 edition of the “Oscars” of Big Wave Surfing, an award given to the single biggest wave ridden worldwide during the entire year, and one of the most respected prizes given in Big Wave Surfing.

Sebastian Steudtner left his hometown of Nuremberg at the age of 16 and moved to Hawaii, where he got to know big wave surfing, ultimately leading him to a successful career in the industry.

This swell originated from a North Atlantic storm and produced some of the biggest and heaviest waves the town has seen in years, reaching the 80ft mark on Thursday, January 18th, 2018.

Some of the biggest names in Big Wave Surfing have descent on Praia do Norte, in Nazaré - off the coast of Portugal, to ride the Biggest Swell since 2014. Locals already call the day “The Big Thursday”, the same name given to the infamous swell of 2014, also on a Thursday.

Benjamin Sanchis, Ross Clarke-Jones, Sebastian Steudtner, Maya Gabeira, Hugo Vau, Alex Botelho, Marcelo Luna, Axi Munian, Andrey Karr, João Guedes, Roland Pierre and many other Professional Big Wave Surfers were in the water, several monster waves were ridden that most likely will end up nominated for the WSL Big Wave Awards, as footage continues to be released.

Praia do Norte beach, near the fishing village of Nazaré, has become famous for huge waves since Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara set a then-record in 2011 for the largest wave ever surfed, when he rode a 78-foot wave.