Teen nearly dies after six-inch live eel gets stuck in throat

A 16-year-old boy nearly died after a live eel slipped down his throat while he was fishing in Bangladesh.

The boy, who was fishing with a friend, caught the Indian spiny eel, known as a Guchi Bail, and placed it between his teeth while he attempted to catch another one.

But the eel managed to slip down his throat, and only went further in when he frantically tried to pull it out.

According to the Mirror, he began having breathing problems and was taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors examined his throat but could not see the eel.

They carried out an emergency operation in which they cut a hole in the front of his neck and inserted a tube into his windpipe to help him breathe.

Fiver hours after the accident had happened, doctors finally spotted the tail of the eel, which by this point had died, and removed it with forceps.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the boy's surgeon, Kanu Saha, said he had seen one other similar case in which a 45-year-old man died after swallowing a fish.

He said of the teen: "Cases like this are very rare. He is very lucky to be alive."

According to Medical Daily, another similar case was seen in India, were a boy was treated at the Terna Medical College and Hospital to remove a fish from his throat.

Dr Fuzail Pathan actually uploaded a video to YouTube of his team removing the fish with forceps.