Just reported on CNN...
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Officials: Woman dies after stingray strikes her
Story Highlights
- Sunbather on boat off Florida dies after fish strikes her, officials say
- Unknown whether ray's barb, blow to head or fall caused her to die
- Victim was 55-year-old woman from Michigan
- Spotted eagle ray weighed about 75 pounds, sheriff's spokeswoman says
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A woman sunbathing on a boat died after a stingray leaped from the water off the Florida Keys on Thursday and struck her, officials said.
"It's just as freakish of an accident as I have heard," said Jorge Pino of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "I have seen stingrays leap into the air, but it's very rare for them to collide with objects."
He said it was not clear whether the 55-year-old Michigan woman died from the blow to her head, from the ray's barb piercing her or from her fall backward.
The accident happened off the coast of Marathon Key, in the Florida Keys about an hour's drive south of Miami. The woman was taken to the Mariner Hospital in Tavernier, where she was pronounced dead.
The spotted eagle ray weighed about 75 pounds, said Becky Herrin, a spokeswoman for the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
The species, also called a leopard ray or bonnet skate, can measure up to 8 feet in length, with an 8-foot tail, and weigh up to 500 pounds, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Web site.
They tend to swim close to the surface and can leap out of the water when being pursued, according to the site.
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What a freakish and horrible accident.
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