By Tim Binnall
A man in Thailand needed emergency surgery after a small fish leapt out of a river and wound up lodged down his throat. The very weird incident reportedly unfolded late last month when the unnamed angler was spearfishing in the country's Phatthalung province. His day took a decidedly dramatic turn when he emerged from the water to catch his breath and, as 'luck' would have it, a five-inch-long spike-covered fish known as an Anabas burst from the river at the very same time. By virtue of its trajectory, the small creature managed to find its way into the fisherman's mouth and, in the subsequent struggle to escape, became stuck.
Seeing that the fisherman suddenly and inexplicably had great difficulty breathing, onlookers rushed the angler to the nearby Phatthalung Provincial Hospital for help. In the process of treating the him, doctors were astounded when x-rays showed that the cause of his condition was a small fish stuck in the space between his naval cavity and throat. Reflecting on the strange event, an official at the hospital marveled that "the chances of this happening are very low. I have never seen this kind of case before." Fortunately, the man was able to breath easier following an hour-long procedure in which the obstruction was removed.