COSTA RICA — A standard day chasing waves turned into an unimaginable battle for survival for 42-year-old Brazilian surfer Fabiano Duarte. While visiting the world-renowned surf destination of Pavones Beach in Puntarenas, Duarte was struck by a leaping swordfish that punctured his heart.
The Freak Attack
The bizarre accident, which occurred in late May, has captured international attention across major sporting outlets like Marca, As, and El Mundo. Duarte was sitting calmly on his surfboard out in the lineup when a swordfish unexpectedly breached the surface, flying straight toward him like a spear.
“A swordfish flew into my chest. I was sitting on the board, and it hit me right in the chest,” Duarte recalled in an emotional interview with Primer Impacto. The impact was instantaneous and devastating, knocking him unconscious immediately.
Two Minutes on the Brink of Death
Duarte’s survival is credited to a sequence of rapid medical interventions. After being pulled from the ocean, a doctor who happened to be on vacation at the beach administered immediate first aid. Duarte was then rushed to the Ciudad Neily Hospital for emergency trauma surgery.
Operating surgeon Dr. Carlos Bolaños revealed how critical the situation became inside the theater: “We received the patient with a hole in his heart from which a massive amount of blood was flowing. During the procedure, the tourist’s heart stopped.”
He was in cardiac arrest for approximately two minutes. From that point, his pulse returned with resuscitation efforts
An Emotional Road to Recovery
Following the intense surgery, Duarte was transferred to the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José, where he was kept in a medically induced coma for several days. Against all odds, his recovery progressed flawlessly, allowing him to fly back home to Brazil to continue healing.
Tears filled Duarte’s eyes as he watched video footage of his own open-heart surgery. “I don’t know how I could really survive. It was thanks to those skilled hands that persisted because things were incredibly grave.”
Now safe at home, Duarte has nothing but praise for the healthcare system that saved his life. “I am very grateful to the medical board of Costa Rica, to the Hospital San Juan de Dios, the entire nursing team, all the doctors, my friends, and our community.”
