CNN
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An Italian surfer has died after being impaled in the chest by a sharp-beaked fish while surfing off the coast of West Sumatra in Indonesia.

Giulia Manfrini, 36, was surfing in the Mentawai Islands, a remote island chain, when she suffered a “freak accident,” her business partner James Colston said.

“Unfortunately, even with the valiant efforts of her partner, local resort staff and doctors, Giulia could not be saved,” Colston said in a statement on Instagram on Sunday. “We believe she died doing what she loved, in a place she loved.”

Lahmudin Siregar, acting head of the Mentawai Islands disaster management agency, said Manfrini was struck in the chest by a swordfish around 9:30 a.m. local time while surfing off the southern part of Siberut island, state news agency Antara reported.

According to a medical report, she suffered a stab wound to the left chest approximately two inches deep, the agency said.

Colston and Manfrini co-founded travel company AWAVE Travel, which organized trips to popular surfing destinations including the Mentawai Islands.

Hidden Bay Resort Mentawais said in an Instagram post that their “client and friend” was “hit in the chest by a needlefish and died almost immediately.”

Both needlefish and swordfish have long, sharp bills and can jump out of the water. Although their physical characteristics can be dangerous to humans, fatalities are incredibly rare.

When the accident happened, there were two witnesses nearby who provided first aid. They rushed her to the Pei Pei Pasakiat Taileleu health center, but her life could not be saved, Antara reported, citing Siberut police.

The mayor of Venaria Reale, a town near Turin in northern Italy where Manfrini’s family lives, offered his condolences to those who knew her.

“The news of her death has shocked us and makes us feel powerless in the face of the tragedy that took her life so untimely,” Fabio Giulivi said in a statement. “To mother Chiara, father Giorgio and all the people who loved her, a moving hug from me and the whole city.”

According to the AWAVE Travel website, Manfrini was a former professional snowboarder with a passion for surfing that “took her chasing waves all over the world.”

“Giulia couldn’t travel without people falling in love with her smile, laugh and endless Stoke,” wrote Colston, co-founder of the agency.

“We love you Giulia. I’m so sorry I have to say goodbye.”