Two-year-old girl killed by piranhas after going missing
A two-year-old girl died in a piranha attack after wandering outside her riverside home in rural Brazil.
Little Clara Vitoria died shortly after she was attacked near the city of Coari, Brazil, on Monday.
Clara reportedly fell into the river through a hole in a floating house where she lived with her family.
Authorities said the home had no fence to prevent her from falling into the water.
She fell during a moment her parents were looking away – and was only found when her family realised she had vanished.
They entered the river to search for her and found her five minutes later, seriously injured.
She died of her injuries, most of which were around her neck, shortly after the attack.
Her body has since been taken to the Legal Medical Institute for forensic procedures, and an investigation has been launched.
Piranhas are common in Coari, which lies in the Amazon River basin.
Attacks by the sharp-toothed fish are rare, as they normally feed on fish, insects and other river creatures.
The piranhas in the river have a bite force of 30 times their body weight, according to local experts.
With their strong jaws and serrated teeth, they have one of the strongest bites found in bony fishes.
In 2022, the bodies of four swimmers were recovered with horrific piranha bites in Paraguay while swimming in a river.
In another instance, 11 people were injured after some piranhas chomped on their feet while they were bathing in a river.
It happened at the Tietê River in Brazil, after the people left behind discarded food that attracted the piranhas.
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