A GIRL was attacked by a school of piranha fish just moments after taking a dip in a scenic lake in Brazil.
Nine-year-old Yasmin Luis Vieira’s foot was mutilated in the savage attack that took place before her mum’s eyes.
Mum Janaina Luis Pereira, 31, said the horror unfolded on a day trip to a lake in the Brazilian municipality of Caldas Novas on June 8.
She said the piranhas pounced on Yasmin within seconds of her feet entering the water.
The fish bit off two of her middle toes on her right foot while also injuring her left foot, according to the mum.
Gruesome images show victim Yasmin’s wounded feet.
Janaina said: “We went to the lake to have a family picnic. We went to the edge so she could put her feet in the water.
“I heard her scream, ‘Mummy, a piranha got my foot’.
“She jumped and got out of the water. When she sat down, I saw that her toes were gone. It was terrifying.
“I never imagined a piranha would do that.”
The mum said plenty of families, along with their children, were bathing in the lake at the time of the attack.
She said: “It’s a freely accessible place. There’s no fee to enter, but the signage is very poor.
“The area where everything happened is the same one where visitors have free access to the water. There is no isolation or protective barriers.”
Paramedics rushed Yasmin to hospital where she was treated for shock and a possible infection and doctors carefully stitched up her mutilated toes.
Her mum said: “She was losing a lot of blood. She was taken to the Mother and Child Hospital and treated immediately.”
Yasmin, said to be in intense pain, will soon have to learn how to walk again.
Janaina said: “The pain is constant, she screams a lot. She is sad because she keeps missing something that was ripped from her body.
“As a mother, seeing this is devastating.
“My emotional state is terrible. She tries to be strong, but she is going through a lot of suffering.”
Environmental experts are investigating the attack, according to city officials.
Around 30 different species of piranha fish are believed to dwell in the lakes and rivers of South America.
The term ‘piranha’ is derived from the Tupí language spoken by indigenous Brazilians, and it translates to ‘tooth fish’ due to their notoriously sharp teeth.
While they have a fearsome reputation as flesh-eaters, piranhas are actually omnivorous forage fish, consuming a wide range of foods, including meat, fish, insects, and plants.
Attacks on humans are rare, with the majority resulting in minor injuries, often to the feet or hands.
