Canoe-leap lad, 18, savaged by fish

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A TEENAGER is believed to have committed “suicide by piranha” after leaping into a river infested with the flesh-eating fish.

Fisherman Oscar Barbosa, 18, bled to death after jumping out of his canoe.

He suffered dozens of bites to his throat and face on Bolivia’s Yata River, local police chief Daniel Cayaya revealed.

He believed Oscar — from Rosario del Yata in the north east of the country — meant to kill himself.

Mr Cayaya said the teenager knew the river well and would have been aware that it is swarming with red piranhas at this time of year. He added that Oscar was thought to be drunk.

The 14-inch fish have razor sharp teeth and hunt in packs to strip their prey of flesh. They are known to devour large snakes and even jaguars in minutes.

Fatal attacks on humans are rare. But swimmers at a river beach in Brazil were attacked by hundreds of piranhas in September.

h.haydon@the-sun.co.uk

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Fuente: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3983692/Suicide-by-piranha.html