Russian tourist Liza needed six stitches after suffering a leg injury while swimming at an Alanya beach in Turkey.
The cut on her skin was smooth and clean, appearing as if it had been sliced by a sharp blade, according to a report by the Telegram news channel Baza.
Liza had dived into the sea and was walking back onto the beach when she felt a sudden sharp pain in her leg. Looking down, she saw a long and deep slice across her skin.
Her parents, who were with her at the resort, said the water was four meters deep where she swam. They confirmed there were no rocks or concrete slabs nearby and that the sea floor was ordinary sand.
The tourist was taken to a local hospital where doctors applied six stitches to close the wound. The medical treatment cost more than 700 euros, which is approximately 70,000 Russian rubles.
Surgeonfish attack suspected
Local residents suggested that Liza was likely attacked by a surgeonfish. The marine creatures are equipped with sharp bony plates on the sides of their tail stalk that can inflict severe cuts on swimmers.
Several species of surgeonfish live in the Mediterranean Sea, and encounters with tourists in coastal resort waters are not uncommon. Accidental contact can leave deep, painful wounds that take a long time to heal.
Alanya is a popular holiday resort town on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, known for its sandy beaches and warm waters that draw millions of international visitors every year.
Previous sea life incidents
The incident follows a separate marine encounter at the luxury Egyptian resort of Sahl Hasheesh on the Red Sea, where a marine sand eel bit the leg of a 40-year-old female Russian tourist from Moscow.
Although marine sand eels are not inherently dangerous to humans, doctors warn that bites from the species can introduce serious bacterial infections into open wounds.
Sahl Hasheesh is a prominent resort bay located south of Hurghada along Egypt's Red Sea coast, popular for coral reef diving and beach tourism.
