Warning! Graphic: Man Shot In Head With Harpoon Gun – And Lives!

Warning! Graphic: Man Shot In Head With Harpoon Gun – And Lives!

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I’ve seen stories of people shooting themselves with bullets, nail guns and even writing instruments, but this has got to top them all!

While cleaning his harpoon gun, Brazillian, Bruno Coutinho accidentally (obviously) triggered the weapon and sent a 6 inch harpoon hurtling at breakneck speed straight through his eye, stopping only because it hit the back of his skull.

It’s a gruesome sight to behold, but I’m sure you won’t be able to resist, so here it is (Warning: Graphic Images):

Here’s the low down from Sky News:

Man Shoots Himself In Head With Harpoon Gun

Bruno Coutinho was cleaning his harpoon gun at his home in Petropolis when he accidentally triggered the apparatus, sending the harpoon through his left eye and into his cranium.

X-rays showed the harpoon speared through his eye straight through to the back of his skull.

It took doctors four hours to successfully remove the metal harpoon.

A neighbour said: “There were people who saw it and got frightened. A thing like this you only see in a movie.”

After the accident, Mr Coutinho was able to call for help before he was taken to Santa Teresa hospital.

Surgeons carried out two operations to remove the harpoon, which had been stuck inside his head for more than 10 hours.

Dr Orlando Maria, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital, said the harpoon came within millimetres of piercing a major artery in Mr Coutinho’s head.

He said: “The object, it seems, took a path where it didn’t damage any vital structures, any vascular structures and was taken out.”

Amazingly, Mr Coutinho has not suffered any brain damage, although he has lost the sight in his left eye.

He has remained in intensive care, but is expected to be released in the next few days.

You may be thinking wow! What a ta, ra, ra, goondiay! However, if your memory serves you right, you’d recollect that this has happened before! In fact, it was just last year when 16 year old Yasser Lopez was fishing in South Florida and did almost the same exact thing.

Here is his miraculous story, also from Sky News:

Teen Survives Being Shot In Head With Harpoon

Yasser Lopez, 16, was fishing with a friend when the weapon went off as the pair were loading equipment onto their boat.

The spear entered just above his right eye and penetrated through his brain to the back of his skull.

The teenager was airlifted to a Miami-area hospital where doctors spent three-hours removing the spear with the aid of a high-speed drill

The medical team revealed that Lopez had been awake and interacting with the emergency team when he arrived at the hospital, which indicated to the doctors that he could survive the ordeal as they planned the surgery.

Miraculously, no vital brain structures were damaged by the harpoon.

Following surgery he could communicate in short sentences with hospital staff but he had no recollection of the accident.

I’ll bet these two have had better days. If this happens again, they could almost start a club. The, “I shot myself with a giant spear and lived” club, or, “Don’t give us pointy stuff” (for short).

Thanks to Sky News for this opportunity to lose our lunch.

Associated Content:

EX: The Strangest Objects Ever Found In Human Body [Gallery]
EX: Man doesn’t realize he had shot himself in head with nail gun

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