A terrifying video has emerged from Portugal of British surfer Andrew Cotton crashing in giant waves and the failed attempt to rescue him.

In the clip, which was filmed in Nazare last month, Cotton rides an enormous wave but falls as the white water catches up with him.

A rescue jet ski, driven by professional surfer Hugo Vau, struggles to find Cotton in the mass of white water and Cotton is forced to duck under another monster wave.

Eventually Vau finds Cotton but as he's preparing to drive them out of danger, a third enormous wave crashes into them, capsizing the jet ski and knocking both men into the water.

Luckily the surfers were able to swim to safety and no serious injuries were reported.

An impressive new video has emerged of a professional British surfer, Andrew Cotton, riding a massive wave in Nazare, Portugal, on December 17, 2016. The huge wave took Cotton down, and the new footage shows the aftermath with an attempted rescue performed by his Portuguese team partner, Hugo Vau, also a professional big wave surfer.
Both Cotton and Vau, and the jet ski were taken down by another wave during the rescue attempt. Even without the jet ski, they were able to reach the safety zone of the beach minutes after this incident, by themselves swimming in the rough waters of Praia do Norte. No serious injuries were reported.