A holidaymaker was killed yesterday when a 75lb (34kg) stingray leapt from the water and struck her as she relaxed with her family on the deck of a private yacht off the Florida Keys.

Judy Kay Zagorski, 57, died in front of her parents and sister, who frantically tried to revive her and summon help after the incident off the island of Marathonin.

Initial reports suggested that the victim was killed by a slash to the neck from the spotted eagle ray’s venomous barb. But officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FFWC), which was investigating, said that Ms Zagorski had died from the impact, which knocked her backwards and sent her toppling across the deck.

“As far as we have established, it was the impact that killed her,” said Gabriella Ferraro, of the FFWC. “We found no puncture wounds on the victim.”

The boat, piloted by Ms Zagorski’s father, was travelling at 22 knots (40km/h) at the time.

“This is a really freak accident,” said Jorge Pino, a spokesman for the FFWC. “There was nothing that the people in the boat could have done differently. It’s just a case where the boat and the ray were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The accident comes 18 months after Steve Irwin, the Australian naturalist and television presenter known as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed by a barb from a stingray while swimming near the Great Barrier Reef.

Wildlife officials said last night that they feared the death in the Florida Keys risked generating more “bad PR” for stingrays, a gentle species that uses its barb only when threatened, attacked or accidentally trodden on.

They jump from the water for non-aggressive reasons — often to shake off parasites, give birth or avoid predators such as sharks. They can weigh up to 500 lb and, at their largest, have a wingspan of as much as 10ft and a length of 17ft, including the tail. The fish that killed Ms Zagorski was relatively small.

“Seeing a spotted eagle ray leaping out of the water isn’t uncommon, but it’s not something you see every day and it stays out of the water for just a few seconds,” said Brent Winner, an associate research scientists at the FFWC. “For one to do so just as a vessel was passing like this was unfortunate.”

“People shouldn’t fear these animals. They are beautiful fish, very graceful, and there is ordinarily no danger to the general public. In fact, if you see one, you consider yourself lucky. Usually when a boat approaches they just flap their wings once or twice and they are gone very quick.”

The incident happened as Ms Zagorski, from the town of Pigeon, Michigan, basked on the deck of a yacht that the party had chartered.

In 2006, a spotted eagle ray leapt on to another boat off the Florida coast and pierced the heart of an 81-year-old man with its barb. He survived.

Pain and pleasure

— Stingrays are related to skates and sharks

— Contact with the stinger causes local trauma (from the cut), pain and swelling from the venom, and possible infection from bacteria

— Treatment for stings includes application of near-scalding water and antibiotics

— In Malaysia and Singapore rays are barbecued and served with sambal sauce. In Iceland eating pickled stingray is a Christmas tradition

— The most-prized parts of the ray are the wings, the “cheek” and the liver

— In Japan the skin of the ray is used as an underlayer for the cord or leather wrap (ito) on Japanese swords (katanas) owing to its hard, rough texture

Source: Times archives

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