Don’t miss a thing by getting the Daily Star’s biggest headlines straight to your inbox!
Four beach-goers have been killed in a spree of vicious piranha attacks in Paraguay that left 20 others injured.
One of those killed was a 22-year old man, who went missing from his family while on the beach.
His family contacted the police, and following a 45-minute search, the man’s body was found to have been badly mauled by the deadly fish with notoriously sharp teeth.
The attack occurred while he was swimming in the Paraguay River, south of the capital Asuncion, at Itá Enramada on January 2, Mirror Online reports.
Forensic examinations confirmed that the 22-year-old man who was killed had most probably been attacked by piranhas in the water as the beasts targeted his face.
It is unusual for piranhas to be so aggressive and yet there have been numerous attacks in the region.
A 49-year-old man was also killed in the Paraguay river, in the town of Puerto Rosario, with his body found with bite wounds after he was reported missing.
Two other people where killed in the Tebicuary river, Villa Florida, in Misiones, with their bodies found with piranha bites, reportedLa Nacion.
There have also been many other reports of swimmers being bitten with more than seven reported on just New Year’s Day on the beach at the Bella Vista swimming club in Itapua.
Adrian Cardoza, a manager at the club, said they are looking at putting chemicals in the water to keep the piranhas away.
Biologist Julio Javier Capli told outletABC.com.pythat piranhas can hide behind floating vegetation in rivers before attacking people.
He said they are most likely to attack during the breeding season but also in hotweatherwhen the water level in rivers is low.
Piranhas normally move around in groups and it is the male piranha that normally attacks to protect their young while the bites are underwater with the predator not jumping as is often shown in terror films.
These freshwater killers recently struck in the Paraná River in Argentina, where a man's toe was bitten off in December 2021.
In the grisly footage, the man reveals a bloodied stump where his toe used to be while others can be heard panicking around him.
The injured father had been on a family day out when he and his son were targeted by a shoal of ravenous piranhas.
Gut wrenching images show the dad missing a big toe and his son with a gaping flesh wound in the heel of his foot.
- Family
- In the News
Source: Read Full Article