Captain Dies After Being Impaled By Swordfish

A fishing boat captain has died after being gored by a swordfish in a harbour in Hawaii.

Randy Llanes, 47, spotted the 3ft-long fish in the water in Honokohau Harbor, in Kailua-Kona, and dived in with his speargun.

He shot the creature and the fish began thrashing around and speared him in the upper chest with its 3ft-long bill.

A police spokesman said the speared fish "got wrapped around a mooring anchor, came back and swam at him".

Mr Llanes, who ran chartered big game fishing trips from the marina, was pulled from the water by onlookers.

He was taken by ambulance to Kona Community Hospital, but doctors could not save him.

Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources said it is investigating the incident, which happened at 11am local time on Friday.

Officials found the dead fish near yachts, and said it weighed around 40lb.

Friends paid tribute to the father-of-one, and said his death has shocked the community.

Dale Leverone told Khon 2 television station: "He was just a great local boy. A good attitude, good person, a help-anybody kind of guy.

"He had a heck of a lot of friends. It's pretty sad, pretty tragic.

"Randy has been fishing all his life. He's a pretty accomplished fisherman. He actually caught a 500lb marlin yesterday out of his skiff."

Experts said swordfish are usually found in much deeper water.