This is the shocking moment a waterspout swept ashore knocking adult sunbathers flat and lifting furniture - and a small child - into the air . Videos captured by several people on their mobile phones show the moment the waterspout , which is effectively a tornado over water , hits the beach in the city of Recife , in the eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco . From there it went up the beach , tearing up sun umbrellas before dying out almost as suddenly as it arrived . Videos captured by several people on their mobile phones show the moment the waterspout , which is effectively a tornado over water , hits the beach in the city of Recife , in the eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco . Local police said that although they had several reports and an ambulance had been at the scene , nobody had been seriously injured . The waterspout went up the beach , tearing up sun umbrellas and even sucking up and spitting out a small child - who was unharmed - before dying out almost as suddenly as it arrived . Eyewitness Salviano Alaniz , 36 , who was on the beach with his wife , said : ' I spotted something out to sea which seem to be a dark area and then I realised it was a waterspout moving towards the shore . ' I did n't realise how strong it was and nobody else seemed to be worried until it suddenly hit the beach - and started knocking people flat . 'Those who did n't fall over ran away as fast as they could , and I saw seven bits of furniture swept up into the air including a child that was lifted a short way before being thrown out of the waterspout and across the sand . ' Local meteorologist Edvania Santos said that they were currently analysing the images posted online to try and work out how the rare natural phenomena had occurred . He said : 'There are some unusual weather patterns happening at the moment which will probably be to blame , and from the videos it looks like a classic waterspout - but we will need to study the footage more carefully before producing a report . ' Local police said that although they had several reports and an ambulance had been at the scene , nobody including the child that had been sucked into the air had been seriously injured , with just a few people suffering minor cuts and bruises . Local meteorologist Edvania Santos said that they were currently analysing the images posted online to try and work out how the rare natural phenomena had occurred . This picture shows the waterspout just seconds before it hit the beach .
Waterspout caught on camera hitting beach in Pernambuco , Brazil . Dramatic video shows the twister sending beach furniture flying . Sunbathers can be seen running for their lives as it careers along sand . One eye witness said that a small child was picked up and hurled .