An unusual scene occurred this Tuesday in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), in the Balearic Islands. After The Independentan 85 -year -old tourist bathed quietly when she was the victim of a fish attack at the end of the morning. Terrorized, she rushed out of the water, revealing a bloody wound in her left calf.
According to information from our colleagues, this hemorrhage was aggravated by the anticoagulant treatment that the octogenarian followed. Seriously injured, the latter was urgently transported to the Rotger Private Clinic in Palma. According to local authorities, the skin of the holidaymaker has been torn off, but her muscle tissues have not been affected.
The beach evacuated
This unusual incident caused the temporary closure of the beach, from 12:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The rescuers evacuated the bathers, hoisted the red flag and started research to try to locate the animal behind the attack. The responsible fish was not found, however, and the authorities raised the alert in the early afternoon.
The first suspicions first focused on a shark. A track quickly dismissed after analysis of the injury. “The bite had no trace of teeth,” said the experts. According to Aniol Esteban, a specialist in marine biodiversity, it could be a tangel, a very frequent predatory fish in the Mediterranean during the summer. A ballist, a species also aggressive when threatened, has also been mentioned.
“I had never seen anything like this”
Questioned by the local media Majorca Daily Bulletin, the lifeguard present on the scene expressed his stupor: “The victim explained that she was bitten near the shore. I had never seen anything like this on this beach; Neither bites nor lacerations of this kind. She also pointed out that the emergency kit was not adapted to such a serious injury, which is why she immediately launched the alert.
This extremely rare incident occurs in a context of warming water, which would encourage certain species to get closer to coastal areas.