70 injured in carnivorous fish attack

A boy runs through a water fountain in Buenos Aires, Argentina,as the capital swelters in 38-degree weather. Photo: Victor R Caivano

A boy runs through a water fountain in Buenos Aires, Argentina,as the capital swelters in 38-degree weather. Photo: Victor R Caivano

Published Dec 27, 2013

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Buenos Aires, Argentina - An attack by a school of carnivorous fish has injured 70 people bathing in an Argentine river, including seven children who lost parts of their fingers or toes.

Director of lifeguards Federico Cornier said on Thursday that thousands of bathers were cooling off from 38-degree temperatures in the Parana River in Rosario on Wednesday when bathers suddenly began complaining of bite marks on their hands and feet. He blamed the attack on palometas, “a type of piranha, big, voracious and with sharp teeth that can really bite.”

Paramedic Alberto Manino said some children he treated lost entire digits. He told the Todo Noticias channel that city beaches were closed, but it was so hot that within a half-hour, many people went back to the water. - Sapa-AP

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