Surfer dies after reportedly being impaled by swordfish

Fabio Giulivi, the mayor of Manfrini’s hometown, Venaria, said the surfer was “tragically” taken from her loved ones in the prime of her life.

“The news of her death has left us shocked and makes us feel powerless in the face of the tragedy that took her life so prematurely,” Giulivi wrote in an Instagram post.

“To all those who loved her, I offer my heartfelt condolences, both from myself and from the entire city,” Giulivi said.

Su Nan-Jay, an associate professor at National Taiwan Ocean University who specializes in fishery studies, said the likelihood of swordfish attacking humans during the day was “relatively small” because they mostly come up to the surface from the ocean depths only at night.

“But you can’t say it’s impossible — it could still happen,” he said.

Swordfish can pose a “quite serious” threat that is “usually very likely to be fatal,” Su said.

“Their snout is like a real sword,” he said. “If it stabs, it goes very deep, and it could even slice through, leaving a large wound.”

It also has many barbs that carry marine vibrio, or bacteria.

“So even if the wound itself isn’t immediately fatal, it can still lead to an infection,” Su said. “It’s really, really dangerous.”

Although attacks by swordfish are rare, surfing-related deaths are not uncommon in Indonesia.

In August, an Australian man died after he hit his head on a reef while surfing in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Last year, American professional surfer Mikala Jones died after the fin of his surfboard severed an artery in his leg while surfing in Indonesia.