Shock: They swam in a river and were devoured by piranhas - Four dead (PHOTO)

The incident happened on the Paraguay River, in Paraguay that is "baked" by the prevailing heat. Naturally, many people rushed to dive into the water to cool off.

The first dead dived and could not get out. His body was found 45 minutes later devoured a little further on a river bank. The same thing happened a few hours later when a 49-year-old man who had dived to cool off never came out and his disappearance was announced.

And he was found several hours later floating dead in the waters of the river. The specific man is presumed to have died of a heart attack from his fear, when he was attacked by the herd.

A little further along the Paraguayan tributary, the Tempicuari, other attacks took place with two other dead. However, similar attacks on piranha rivers have been reported in Argentina.

According to Argentine biologist Julio Capli, although there are eight species of piranhas in the country, only two carry out attacks. The deadly species are found mainly in the Paranνά and Paraguay rivers as they hide under floating plants and suddenly attack their victims.

Myths about piranhas

The word piranha comes from the Guarani language, where "pirá" means fish and añá is a satanic genie. Others attribute the name to Tupinaba, a language related to the former, where "pirá" also means fish and the word "anhá" refers to the teeth, meaning "toothed fish".

The name "piranha" has acquired a frightening dimension, as their attacks on people have been recorded, but in reality these cases are isolated. From time to time, myths were spread about piranhas devouring a human body or a mammal in seconds. These myths refer to a specific genus of this fish. Another myth states that they are attracted by blood. But all these claims have been refuted after relevant scientific research.