While surfing in Indonesia, an Italian surfer is pierced by a swordfish, resulting in her death in a bizarre mishap.
An Italian surfer hunting for waves off the west coast of Sumatra died after she was stabbed in the chest by the bill of a swordfish, in what is being considered a freak accident.
prativad 
Reports state that a swordfish impaled an Italian woman who was surfing an island break off the west coast of Sumatra, causing her to die in an unusual mishap.
Giulia Manfrini, 36, was stabbed by a swordfish's bill while surfing in the waters of Masokut Island in the Mentawai Islands, which are located off the west coast of Sumatra, according to the Antara News Agency in Indonesia.
Lahmudin Siregar, the acting head of the Mentawai Islands' Disaster Management organization, informed the news source that the mishap involving an Italian person surfing was reported to his organization.
He said Manfrini was hunting waves in the waters of Ombak Bengbeng, Masokut Island in the Southwest Siberut District.
"Unexpectedly, a swordfish jumped toward Manfrini and stuck it right in the chest of the female tourist," Siregar added.
Information obtained by Antara from Siberut Police suggests Manfrini asked for help by waving to two witnesses who were also foreign nationals, named Alexandre Ribas and Massimo Ferro.
The two witnesses rushed to assist Manfrini and provided first aid before taking her to a nearby clinic, where she was pronounced dead.
A medical examination conducted by the medical team at Pei Pei Puskesmas found Manfrini suffered a stab wound in the upper chest, about 5 centimeters deep. The report also said the victim’s nose emitted foam, suggesting a lack of oxygen due to drowning.
Manfrini’s body is currently in Pei Pei Puskesmas and is expected to be taken to the city of Padang before being sent back to Italy.
Manfrini reportedly grew up in Venaria Reale, Italy, a community just outside the city of Turin.
The mayor of Venaria Reale, Fabio Giulivi, spoke about Manfrini’s sudden death on Saturday.
"The entire Venarian community is gathering around Giulia Manfrini’s family," Giulivi said in a translated post. "The news of her death has left us shocked and makes us feel powerless in front of the tragedy that took her life so prematurely."
He continued, saying Manfrini dreamed of surfing and opening a travel agency for sports vacations.
"To mum Chiara, dad Giorgio and all the people who loved her, a touching hug from me and the whole city," Giulivi said.
Tributes poured in after news broke about Manfrini’s death.
One person who said she spent Manfrini’s last evening with her picking pomegranates and talking about making fig jam, wrote about her friend, saying, "We can only say how much she got out of her short life, and she filled it completely."
Another person wrote, "We are a huge heartbroken community that loved Giulia with all our hearts. She was the most lighthearted friend we had, always bringing joy and love to our group."
The Mentawai Islands Regency is a popular international tourist destination, especially for surfing.
