Italian surfer dies after being impaled by fish off the coast of Indonesia

By Alex Stambaugh, CNN

(CNN) — An Italian surfer has died after being impaled in the chest by a sharp-billed fish while surfing off Indonesia’s West Sumatra coast.

Giulia Manfrini, 36, had been surfing in the Mentawai Islands, a remote island chain when she suffered a “freak accident,” said her business partner James Colston.

“Unfortunately, even with the brave efforts of her partner, local resort staff and doctors, Giulia couldn’t be saved,” Colston said Sunday in a statement on Instagram. “We believe she died doing what she loved, in a place that she loved.”

Lahmudin Siregar, acting head of the Mentawai Islands disaster management agency, said Manfrini was struck in the chest by a swordfish while surfing off the southern part of Siberut Island around 9:30 a.m. local time, according to state-news agency Antara.

According to a medical report, she suffered a stab wound to the upper left chest with a depth of about five centimeters, the agency said.

Together Colston and Manfrini founded travel company AWAVE Travel, which organized trips to popular surfing destinations, including the Mentawai Islands.

Hidden Bay Resort Mentawais said in an Instagram post that their “client and friend” had been “hit in the chest by a needlefish and died almost immediately.”

Both needlefish and swordfish have long, sharp bills and can jump out of the water. While their physical features can be dangerous to humans, fatalities are incredibly rare.

Two witnesses were nearby when the accident occurred and provided first aid. They rushed her to the Pei Pei Pasakiat Taileleu health center, but her life could not be saved, Antara reported citing Siberut police.

The mayor of Venaria Reale, a town near Turin in northern Italy, where Manfrini’s family lives, expressed his condolences to those who knew her.

“The news of her death has left us shocked and makes us feel powerless in front of the tragedy that took her life so prematurely,” Fabio Giulivi said in a statement. “To mum Chiara, dad Giorgio and all the people who loved her, a touched hug from me and the whole City.”

According to the AWAVE Travel website, Manfrini was a former professional snowboarder who had a passion for surfing that “led her all over the world to chase waves.”

“Giulia couldn’t travel without people falling in love with her smile, laugh and endless Stoke,” Colston, the agency’s co-founder, wrote.

“We love you Giulia. I am so sorry to say goodbye.”

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Noemi Cassanelli contributed to this report.