Medics remove harpoon embedded in fisherman's head after drunken row

10 March 2024 , 10:33

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Medics remove harpoon embedded in fisherman's head after drunken row

This is the gruesome moment medics removed a harpoon embedded in a fisherman's head in Thailand.

Hapless angler Sujit Klingtalay, 45, had a row with one of his friends while they were drinking in Nakhon Ratchasima province on March 3. The friend then allegedly grabbed the harpoon, aimed it at Sujit's head, and fired, lodging the sharp metal object near the base of Sujit's head.

Despite the horrifying injury, Sujit remained conscious and lucid as his friends put him in the back of a pickup truck and rushed him to the Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital at around noon. Before he could undergo surgery, volunteers first had to cut off the footlong harpoon protruding from the back of his head.

Sujit Klingtalay had a harpoon in his head (ViralPress)

He was taken to the hospital after the incident (ViralPress)

The crew used a plasma cutter and, within seconds, hacked off the harpoon, leaving just a few centimetres still in Sujit's flesh. Sujit said: "I was fishing with my friend and we joked about the fish we had caught. I said I had caught bigger fish than him but he was offended, and he started shouting about other subjects. I don't remember everything because I had also been drinking beer.

"When the harpoon fist hit me I felt the pain in my head. But I had a cigarette and felt better. I was relieved when we arrived at the hospital and I was still alive because I could trust the doctors to handle the situation."

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Forgiving Sujit said he had not yet pressed charges against the alleged shooter. He said he would wait until he felt better before speaking to the police.

Doctors remove the harpoon from Sujit's head (ViralPress)

Medics rushed to save the man's life (ViralPress)

Medics said Sujit will undergo x-rays, CT scans, and further exams to assess damage to his brain and skull. Doctor Anurak said: "This patient is lucky to survive. The angle of the harpoon went through the flesh and into the ear. It if had struck further to the right, it would have damaged his brain and he would have died."

Last November, a teenage Thai boy miraculously survived shooting himself in the head with a harpoon. Chayathorn Thankrathok had been fishing with his friends at a canal in Nakhon Ratchasima province when he fired the harpoon into the water - only for it to rebound toward his face.

An x-ray showing the harpoon in the fisherman's head (ViralPress)

The steel object was buried between his eyebrows, and he was rushed to the Chakkarat Hospital, where surgeons successfully removed it. CT scans revealed that the harpoon had "penetrated the skull deep into the brain". As the procedure was too delicate, doctors had to transfer the teen to the Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital where there was better equipment.

Chaisit Phupharat, head of Rescue Unit Hook 31 that responded to the incident, said: "The villagers said they often use harpoons instead of rods for fishing. The victim missed a fish then the spear bounced back toward his face. It was embedded in his skull, so he's very lucky to be alive."

Chiara Fiorillo