A 100-pound sailfish leaped out of the water and impaled a 73-year-old Maryland woman on a fishing boat in Florida, officials said.
The victim was with two others last Tuesday when an angler on board caught the sailfish on a fishing line about two miles offshore near Stuart, Florida, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said.
As they attempted to reel in the fish, two men on board noticed the creature began to charge at the boat, the incident report said.
The fish then jumped out of the water and stabbed the woman in the groin area as she was standing next to the centre console. The anglers reported the sailfish was estimated to be 100 pounds, the sheriff’s office said.
The two other men on the boat put pressure on the wound and met responding officers at Sandsprit Park.
The woman, identified as Katherine Perkins, told police the incident unfolded so fast she did not have time to react.
She was flown to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital. No one else was injured in the incident.
NBC News has reached out to the hospital for an update on her condition.
Sailfish have large dorsal fins like sails and long, pronounced bills, according to Ocean Conservancy. They can weigh up to 200 pounds and grow between 6 to 11 feet in length.
