A man was killed in a “freak incident” after a giant fish leaped out of the sea while he was on a boat fishing.
The bizarre accident happened at Darwin Harbour in Australia where a 56-year-old man was fishing together with his friends and family members.
While the group was on their boat, a large, 40-pound mackerel allegedly leaped out of the water and struck the fisherman in his chest.
According to the reports, narrow-barred Spanish mackerels can grow up to several feet long whereas adults may weigh as much as 85 pounds.
Following the Friday incident, which occurred at around 4.30 in the afternoon, the man was rushed to the shore where he received professional help from paramedics.
Despite everyone’s efforts, the 56-year-old fisherman died at the scene.
“From reports, it was like an 18kg (40lb) mackerel, so it would have been a big fish that speared right into this guy and caused major blunt trauma,” James Crane, a local fisherman, confirmed in an interview with ABC.
While the exact cause of death is unknown as of the time of this writing, the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services dubbed the accident a “freak incident” and asked the public to respect the victim’s family’s privacy.
“This appears to be a freak incident which is hugely distressing for the people in the boat and other family and friends of the man. Police ask that their privacy be respected and as such will not be providing further comment,” they said in a statement.
Following the fisherman’s death, St John Ambulance revealed that the victim was still breathing when his family members called for help. As the spokesperson added, the request got upgraded and CPR was administered after the man started having difficulties breathing while still on the boat.
“We continued trying CPR when the boat arrived at Cullen Bay. The resuscitation was started on the boat and our crew continued to try to revive the man when he was removed to the dock,” the ambulance service told NT News.
“A very sad event when a day of fishing ends this way.”
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