ITALIAN surfer Giulia Manfrini was surfing off Masokut Island in Indonesia when she was tragically impaled by the sharp bill of a needlefish, according to Stabmag.com.
Stabmag.com reports that two witnesses, also foreigners, provided first aid and rushed her to the nearest Community Health Center. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, her life could not be saved.
Marine biologist Antonio Di Natale told Stabmag: “It was likely an imperial needlefish, which is also found in the Mediterranean, though no attacks on humans have been recorded there.”
“It’s often difficult to determine which fish is responsible in fatal cases, especially without witnesses. Swordfish attacks, for instance, leave flat cuts and have been documented in the Mediterranean since the 1500s. In the oceans, black marlin and imperial needlefish are also known to attack. The imperial needlefish has a rostrum that can reach 30 cm in length, and while rounded, it can be deadly when it strikes a human, particularly when these fish, which can weigh up to 30 kilos, leap out of the water.”
Similar incidents involving needlefish, while rare, have occurred in Indonesia.
