Tributes pour in for Italian surfer killed by swordfish in Indonesia
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Ms Giulia Manfrini was surfing in waters off West Sumatra when the incident happened.
PHOTOS: AWAVE TRABEL, GIULIA MANFRINI/INSTAGRAM
JAKARTA – Tributes poured in for an Italian surfer after she was stabbed in the chest by a swordfish and died off the western coast of Indonesia.
Ms Giulia Manfrini, 36, was surfing when she was struck by a fish with a long, pointed bill in the Mentawai islands off the coast of Sumatra island last week.
“She was surfing on the waters off Masokut Island. A swordfish suddenly jumped and struck her in the chest,” Mentawai disaster mitigation agency’s acting head Lahmudin Siregar said on Oct 22.
“They brought her to the nearest health clinic but as soon as they arrived, she did not make it.”
Mr Lahmudin told state news agency Antara that the swordfish caused a wound 5cm deep.
The resort where she was staying said she loved surfing in the region.
“She was hit in the chest by a needlefish and died almost immediately,” Hidden Bay Resort Mentawais said in an Instagram statement on Oct 21.
“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.”
Mr James Colston, co-founder of Ms Manfrini’s travel agency Awave Travel, said in a statement on Oct 20 that she “died doing what she loved, in a place that she loved” in what he called a “freak accident”.
In 2023, American professional surfer Mikala Jones died aged 44 after a surfing accident in the same region of Indonesia. AFP
