At least 40 swimmers were left screaming in pain after a terrifying mass piranha attack at a packed Argentine beach — a frenzy so violent that one victim reportedly lost a finger.
The chaos erupted along the Paraná River near the city of Victoria, where families cooling off in the water were suddenly ambushed by the flesh-eating fish. Local officials say more than 40 people, including children, suffered bloody bite wounds as panicked bathers raced out of the shallows.
Hospital Fermín Salaberry’s emergency department was flooded with injured swimmers over the weekend. Doctors treated gaping wounds where the carnivorous fish tore away chunks of skin and flesh. Beach guard Alejandro Martin said he handled 46 cases himself.
“I used up three first-aid kits,” he said, adding that one victim’s finger was partially amputated in the attack.
Lifeguards quickly evacuated the beach, raised a red danger flag, and ordered everyone out of the water as more people stumbled onto shore bleeding.
Officials say warning signs were already posted along the riverbank — but many of the victims had entered prohibited swimming zones despite the alerts.
Authorities are now urging locals and tourists to stay out of the Paraná River, keep a close eye on children, and seek immediate treatment if bitten. Experts say extreme heat and record-low water levels are driving piranhas closer to shore and making shallow areas especially dangerous.
The alarming surge in attacks has renewed calls for stricter safety measures. Martin has pushed for a two-meter-high protective netting system with buoys and chains to keep swimmers separated from the aggressive fish through the summer season.
The latest incident comes on the heels of a heartbreaking tragedy in neighboring Brazil, where a two-year-old girl, Clara Vitoria, was killed in a horrifying piranha attack after falling into a river near her home in Amazonas.
As temperatures soar, officials fear even more encounters unless tighter controls are put in place — and fast.
Fresh water including both lakes and rivers can have dangerous microorganisms that seawater doesn’t (absent sewage dumping into the ocean nearby).
But South American rivers, really? That’s a suicidal place to swim. Like a Florida swamp, unless you’re a practiced alligator wrestler.