James Bertakis, 81, was out with his grand daughter and a friend off Lighthouse Point, north of Miami. In what was described as a 'very odd' event, a 1.5m-wide sting ray managed to leap into the boat and, during the commotion that followed, its sting barb was released when it came into contact with Bertakis' chest, piercing and collapsing a lung. Bertakis reportedly remained conscious as, leaving the barb in place, the others headed shoreward. Emergency services transferred the injured man to hospital, where the barb was removed by surgeons. In September, not long after Australian Irwin's death, a diver in New Zealand's Tasman Bay received a sting to the leg from a 1m-wide ray, leaving a wound requiring stitches. Joe McKnight told the Nelson Mail that he felt the stab and looked down to see the ray detaching itself. But Nelson Underwater Club reminded the paper that the incident was highly unusual, as a 'sting ray doesn't go out to attack'. Related links Ocean the riskiest area for Irwin Aussie stingrays suffer
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