Woman Stabbed In Groin By 100-Pound Sailfish That Leapt From Water

A 73-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital after the incident on a fishing boat off the Florida coast.
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A 73-year-old woman was stabbed on a boat off the Florida coast by a 100-pound sailfish that leapt from the water as two other passengers were trying to reel it in, officials said.

The sailfish appeared to be charging at the boat and then jumped from the water and stabbed the woman in the groin while she was standing beside the boat’s center console, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman, Katherine Perkins of Arnold, Maryland, told responding officers she didn’t have time to react.

Sailfish have a distinctive upper jaw that juts out above their lower jaw, forming a spear-like bill.
Sailfish have a distinctive upper jaw that juts out above their lower jaw, forming a spear-like bill.
Mauricio Handler via Getty Images

The two other passengers applied pressure to the wound until they reached the coast and authorities tended to the injury.

She was taken to the hospital and was in good condition on Sunday, a spokesperson for HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital told CNN.

According to National Geographic, sailfish are the fastest fish in the ocean and can reach speeds of 68 miles per hour. They have a distinctive upper jaw that juts out above their lower jaw, forming a spear-like bill.

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