WOMAN KILLED BY A STRING RAY

In a freak accident, a 75-pound stingray killed a Michigan woman
Thursday when it flew out of the water and struck her in the face as she rode in a boat in the Florida keys, officials said.

The impact of the animal killed the woman and not the barb like
the other two people who died from freak stingray accidents recently when the barb pierced them.

If you remember a man in Australia died in a freak stingray
accident fairly recently and a man off the coast of the U.S. died recently when a stingray jumped out of the water and pierced him through with its barb.

Three freak stingray accidents in a short period of time. What is going on?

Have stingray will wrestle (see picture above), EL-777

If it was indeed a stingray which I suspect it was actually an Eagle Ray which is well known to jump high out of the water as a means of escaping predators.

I saw a video of one taken by a diver once and it shot striahgt up from 80 ft and disappeared out of the water and the moment it hits the water it shoots off in a different direction at high speed.

The man in Florida didn't die. He had to have surgery but he was saved.

At least, the article I read said that he didn't die.

Eldorado, I think you'd better stay up on land. There's probably a ray out there with your name on it.

Reprint of found article:

"Florida boater James Bertakis of Lighthouse Point (near Ft Lauderdale, see
map below) was seriously injured by a spotted eagle ray which jumped into
his boat on Wednesday. Unlike the case with Steve Irwin, Bertakis did not
attempt to remove the barb and this may have saved his life. The unusual
‘attack’ occured while Bertakis was at the helm of a small jet boat in a
canal on the Atlantic Inter-Coastal waterway. CNN has produced two
informative videos.

According to the initial story at CNN:

James Bertakis of Lighthouse Point was on the water with his granddaughter
and a friend Wednesday when a stingray flopped onto the boat and stung
Bertakis. The women steered the boat to shore and called 911. (Watch to see
the speckled creature’s face, stringy tail and what’s happened to the
victim– 1:25)

Doctors were able to remove the barb during surgeries Wednesday and Thursday
by eventually pulling it through his heart and closing the wound, said Dr.
Eugene Costantini at Broward General Medical Center.

He said Bertakis’ case was different from Irwin’s because the barb stayed in
Bertakis’ heart and was not pulled out. Videotape of Irwin’s last moments
shows him pulling the barb from his chest. (Watch the surgeon’s demo of what
happened to Bertakis’ heart and why the barb went deeper — 12:03)

Bertakis was apparently trying to remove the three-foot-wide spotted eagle
ray from the boat when he was stung, police Cmdr. Mike Oh said.

Subsequent interviews seem to indicate that Bertakis was actually stung as
the sting ray jumped aboard, not as part of an attempt to remove it.

The first CNN Video provides a few shots of the canal and Bertakis’ jet boat
(or so I assume). It also features interviews with the 1st trauma team to
treat him.

The second video shows a press conference with two of Bertakis’ sons and the
Broward General Hospital surgeon who removed the barb. The doctor provides a
detailed explanation of the injury and fix. The barb pierced entirely
through the heart, but also acted as a plug to limit bleeding long enough to
allow surgery."

You got it right the first time, EL777...ACCIDENT. Pure and simple. I hope one would not actually think that a "ray" would do this intentionally! Pleeeeze!

Eldorado better watch out for these too:

Fish spears man in eye and pierces brain
November 24, 2005

FISHERMAN Adnan Walid, 39, died after a swordfish leapt out of the water and stabbed him in the eye.

--HARIAN METRO

Mr Adnan (above left), a father of two, had been fishing with a friend in the sea off Pulau Langkawi on Saturday.

His wife, Madam Mariah Abdullah, 34, said that the two men went out in her husband's boat at about 8pm.

PIERCED BRAIN

She told the Malaysian papers: 'It all happened when Adnan was flashing his torchlight in the water.'

Suddenly, the friend heard Adnan screaming for help.

A swordfish had jumped out of the water and stabbed him in his right eye.

The sharp part of the fish's mouth was about 30cm long and was as thick as an adult's big toe.

It entered Mr Adnan's right eye, just missed the eyeball and then pierced part of his brain.

By the time the friend rushed over, Mr Adnan had already pulled the fish out, but part of the mouth broke off, and a piece remained lodged in his head.

Mr Adnan collapsed soon after and was rushed to Langkawi Hospital.

He was later transferred to the Alor Star Hospital where he died on Monday at about 4pm without regaining consciousness.

Mr Adnan's friend, who declined to be named told reporters: 'It was a freak accident.

'We've heard of people being injured by the fish, but I think this is the first time I've heard of someone being killed. It is unusual.'

TRIED TO STOP DAD

Madam Mariah said that their two children, Mohd Salleh, 14, and Bukhari, 12, had tried to stop their father from going fishing on Saturday.

She said: 'He was preparing to go out at 8pm when they clung to him and begged him to stay at home as the wind was too strong.

This better not get deleted or someone is going to question it.