Fabiano Duarte da Costa was surfing in Costa Rica when he was struck by a needlefish. Photo: Vakinha
A surfer was rushed to the hospital after being pierced in the heart by a needlefish in Costa Rica. As the U.S. Sun reports, Fabiano Duarte da Costa, a 42-year-old physical education teacher and canoe instructor hailing from from Itajai in southern Brazil, was surfing at Playa Pavones when he was struck by the wayward fish. “Fabiano went surfing and everything turned upside down – a needlefish pierced his heart,” described his wife, Priscila Carlesso.
Though it’s hard to call the man lucky, it was a stroke of fortune that there happened to be a doctor on the beach at the time, who was able to stabilize him before emergency services arrived. As O Globo reports, he was treated in a local hospital, before being airlifted to San Jose, where he underwent complex cardiac surgery.
However, the ordeal is not quite over yet. Da Costa faces mounting medical costs, and still needs to return home to Brazil. To that end, Carlessa has begun a fundraising page for his recovery costs.
This isn’t the first time a surfer has been injured by an errant needlefish. In 2024, Italian surfer Giulia Manfrini was impaled in the chest while surfing at the Beng Bengs surf break in the Mentawai Islands. Other surfers rushed to her aid, taking her to shore as she bled profusely from the wound. Attempts to revive her on land failed, however, and she died at the scene.
