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03rd Nov 2021

Man eaten by piranhas after drowning in lake while trying to escape bee attack

Kieran Galpin

The piranhas ate the side of his face

The mutilated corpse of a fisherman was found by officials having been torn open and eaten by the lake’s flourishing piranha population.

The 30-year-old man was fishing alongside two friends when they were swarmed by bees. Naturally, in an effort to get away from the furious flying insects, the lads jumped into a lake in Brasilândia de Minas, Minas Gerais.

Two of the lads were able to get to safety but the third could not be found.

The fire department was called for assistance but when an officer attempted to dive in, they were informed that the lake was full of piranhas.

The body was eventually found four metres away from the shoreline over the weekend and authorities could immediately see the carnivorous fish had made a meal out of him.

“Fish tore open several parts of the body and tore open the right side of the face,” reports Newsbeezer.

Officials were initially unsure about the manner of death, given that it could’ve been either by drowning or at the teeth of the carnivorous fish.

Lieutenant Toletino, commander of the Third Platoon of the Military Fire Department, later revealed that the man’s body was found in a position usually associated with drowning.

Though Piranhas have a bad reputation, they are hardly the ravenous killers that films make them out to be. In fact, piranhas only tend to attack dying or dead prey larger than themselves.

But that isn’t to say that swimming with the fish might not spell disaster, as there have been a fair number of attacks over the years. A 2017 study showed that the fish are actually drawn to blood and noise in the water just like their Hollywood depictions.

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