Sailfish leaps out of water, attacking 70-year-old woman off Florida coast

A Sailfish out of the water. File photo / Getty Images

A 70-year-old woman was stabbed by the bill of a 45kg sailfish that leapt out of the water and attacked her as her companions were trying to reel it in on a boat near the Florida coast, authorities said.

The sailfish stabbed the woman from Arnold, Maryland in the groin area with its pointed bill while she was standing in the boat as two companions tried to bring it in on a fishing line about 3.2 km offshore from Stuart, Florida, according to a report from the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

The companions applied pressure to the wound, and the woman was taken to Stuart for medical treatment.

The woman told deputies that the attack happened so fast that she didn't have time to react, according to the sheriff's office report.

Sailfish are among the fastest fish species in the ocean and, like the swordfish, are recognizable by their extended, pointed bills. Photo / AP

Sailfish are among the fastest fish species in the ocean and, like the swordfish, are recognisable by their extended, pointed bills.