Tributes have been paid to an Italian surfer who tragically died after being stabbed in the chest by a swordfish off the western coast of Indonesia. Giulia Manfrini, 36, was surfing in the Mentawai islands, off the coast of Sumatra, when she was struck by a fish with a long, pointed bill last week.
"She was surfing on the waters off Masokut Island. A swordfish suddenly jumped and struck her in the chest," said Lahmudin Siregar, acting head of the Mentawai disaster mitigation agency, on Tuesday. "They brought her to the nearest health clinic but as soon as they arrived, she did not make it." Lahmudin told state news agency Antara that the swordfish had caused a wound 5 centimeters deep.
The resort where she had been staying, Hidden Bay Resort Mentawais, shared a heartfelt message on Instagram: "She was hit in the chest by a needlefish and died almost immediately. We do know, however, that she continued to do what she loved best and without suffering. May you follow your path of light and may you surf the eternal waves on the other side."
James Colston, co-founder of Manfrini's travel agency AWAVE Travel, expressed his condolences, stating that she "died doing what she loved, in a place that she loved" in what he called a "freak accident." This tragic incident echoes the death of American professional surfer Mikala Jones, who died aged 44 in a surfing accident in the same region of Indonesia last year.
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
