Durban - A spearfisherman allegedly shot himself in the face with his spear while in the surf near the Scottburgh main beach on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast on Friday.
The man had been spearfishing alone near the sea shore when the accident happened according to eyewitnesses on the beach.
The Scottburgh Lifesaving Club said the man had come ashore in a distraught state and they immediately rushed over to assist him.
Local fishermen and lifeguards called emergency services for assistance to carefully remove the spear from his body.
The Umdoni Municipality ambulance service and Netcare 911 paramedics arrived to provide further medical care.
He had been rushed from the beach to the N2 freeway just pass Umkomaas, by paramedics, where he was airlifted to hospital by Netcare 911.
From pictures circulating on social media the spear went through the unidentified spearfisherman's mouth and came out near the side of his head.
"He shot himself below his sinus and beneath his brain with his speargun," said a voice note message from a lifeguard calling for emergency services.
The man had been airlifted to a local hospital by paramedics.
According to Wikipedia spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia.
Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks.
Today modern spearfishing makes use of elastic powered spearguns and slings, or compressed gas pneumatic powered spearguns, to strike the hunted fish.
Spearfishing may be done using free-diving, snorkelling, or scuba diving techniques. Spearfishing while using scuba equipment is illegal in some countries. The use of mechanically powered spearguns is also outlawed in some countries and jurisdictions.
Spearfishing is highly selective, normally uses no bait and has no by-catch.