HONOLULU - Hawaii fire officials say a man is dead after he was apparently impaled by the bill of a fish.
West Hawaii Acting Battalion Chief John Whitman says witnesses reported that a man in his 40s jumped from a Kailua-Kona pier Friday in an attempt to catch a billfish, likely a short nose spear fish.
Whitman says the man was later seen floating and firefighters responded to the scene. Whitman says the man had a puncture wound to his right, upper torso. The man was taken to Kona Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Whitman estimates the fish was about 30 pounds. He says that type fish has a bill that can be up to a foot long.
The man's identity has not been released.
