A Pain in the Neck--The Real Deal

Betcha Muhammad Idul, the 16-year-old Indonesian boy in this photo, never will forget the pain and agony he had to be experiencing here after being speared in the neck with the snout of a needlefish.

According to the boy's father, Saharuddin, he had taken up fishing on the weekends as a hobby. "Idul was on one of his fishing adventures last weekend," said the father, "when a needlefish (known as a 'sori,' in local dialect), suddenly leaped out of the water and speared Idul, knocking him off his boat. It pierced him under the left side of his chin, through the back of his neck, just below his skull."

For the record, needlefish (see Atlantic version at left) are capable of making short jumps out of the water at up to 60 km/h (37 mph). Since they swim near the surface, they often leap over the decks of shallow boats, rather than going around. Injuries and deaths from these fish are well-documented, among them a young snorkeler in Florida, who nearly was killed when a houndfish leapt from the water and impaled her in the heart. In October 2013, a young Saudi man died of hemorrhaging that resulted from being hit by a needlefish on the left side of his neck. And in December 2018, a needlefish killed a Thai Navy special forces cadet, after impaling him in his collarbone.

Idul managed to get to the surface and walk home, his right hand gripping the fish, while its snout still was stuck in his neck. He was then taken to a nearby hospital, but the doctor there wouldn't risk removing the fish's snout due to limited equipment. He subsequently was transferred to a second hosptial, where six surgeons took an hour to perform the necessary surgical procedure.

At last report, Idul was under close supervision in the hospital, being watched for potential infections. His stay was expected to last about a week.

Thanks, Ron, for bringing this item to my attention. His email included mention of the fact that he has caught either needlefish or houndfish in Back Bay. "Can't imagine peddling back to the launch with one of these in my neck," he said.