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  • 4 days ago
River.Monsters.S09E03
Transcript
00:00I'm Jeremy Wade, explorer, biologist, and aquatic detective.
00:08Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
00:10For 30 years, I've been investigating underwater mysteries,
00:14tracking down fresh and saltwater killers
00:17in some of the most remote corners of the world.
00:23And now, in the tropical waters of Southeast Asia,
00:27reports are surfacing of a mystery creature
00:30that's impaling swimmers and fishermen,
00:33causing gruesome injuries and even death.
00:38The lethal stab wounds and the bizarre ways in which they happened
00:42are like nothing I've ever seen.
00:48Were the victims just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
00:52Or do these waters conceal a coral reef killer?
00:57No!
01:18Over the years, I've come across all sorts of attacks on humans
01:22in fresh and salt water.
01:26Victims lacerated by sharp-toothed monsters,
01:30like sharks, piranhas, and barracudas.
01:35Corpses crushed, suffocated, and drowned
01:39by anacondas and crocodiles.
01:42Casualties slashed open by serrated sawfish.
01:45But this is something very different.
01:50A report from Indonesia has really caught my attention.
01:54Just a few months ago, a woman on vacation was snorkelling on a coral reef
02:02when she was stabbed and killed by an unseen assailant.
02:06And the more I look into this case, the more I uncover.
02:13Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
02:18Aquatic attacks by a mystery creature.
02:21Each time the victim is impaled, left with a deep stab wound,
02:28and the end result is serious injury, paralysis, or death.
02:33This new case could be my opportunity to identify and find a killer
02:39that's stalking the reefs of an entire region.
02:45It happened off the coast of Sulawesi,
02:48one of the largest of Indonesia's 17,000 islands.
02:51This corner of the globe is new to me.
02:57I make a 7,500 mile journey into the heart of Equatorial Asia.
03:03It would be easy to be taken in by the beauty,
03:07but I'm here to find a killer.
03:09My destination is Dongala, a fishing community on the northwest coast
03:22that in season attracts divers and tourists,
03:26drawn to its beaches and pristine reef.
03:32Today, the dusty streets are eerily silent.
03:39This place really is the archetypal tourist paradise.
03:43You've got sunshine all year round, beautiful sandy beach, palm trees,
03:48and out there is a coral reef just crying out to be snorkelled.
03:53But a sinister shadow is lying over this scene,
03:58and there's a very good chance that the killer is still out there.
04:05A killer in the coral is bad for business,
04:07and for some of the beach merchants, it would be best forgotten.
04:15My persistence eventually gets me directed to Abu Bakar,
04:19who was snorkelling here on the day the most recent victim was attacked.
04:23Can you start by telling me what exactly you saw?
04:26Oh, pada saat itu, kejadian itu sore.
04:30He tells me it was the New Year holiday.
04:33The beach was packed with people enjoying the warm waters.
04:37All of a sudden, he heard screaming and shouting.
04:40A young woman snorkeller had been attacked.
04:44So you were on the beach, and people are saying it's some kind of fish,
04:45but they don't know what kind.
04:46Yeah, memang benar.
04:47He directs me towards Aisha, who rented a snorkel and mask to the victim.
04:52So you heard some kind of shout, some kind of noise, and you actually went to see what had happened, to see if you could help?
05:10Yeah.
05:13What did people imagine had happened, or what did they see?
05:17She recalls seeing blood running from the woman's head.
05:22The victim was carried from the beach and rushed to hospital.
05:27Now, your head is a pretty solid structure, it has to be.
05:37The main purpose of the skull is to protect the brain, so most of this is thick bone.
05:43There are a few weak points, principally the eye sockets, but the victim would have been wearing one of these.
05:50And I know that because I spoke to the woman who hired it to her, so her eyes would have been protected.
05:55The thing is, to penetrate this or this, you're going to need serious force, serious momentum, something seriously sharp.
06:05All of which suggests that the perpetrator was a large, powerful fish.
06:15No one I spoke to saw the attacker.
06:18I have no idea what potential killers could live in these waters, so close to swimmers.
06:28If I just arrived at this place without knowing very much about what happened here, I'd be quite looking forward to getting in and having a snorkel around on top of the coral.
06:35But I have to say that I'm not totally relaxed about getting in the water.
06:40Right now, I'm as vulnerable as the woman who was killed.
06:55I'm not seeing anything over a few inches long, and none of these fish has the teeth or other weaponry to smash a hole in someone's head.
07:14Certainly lots of fish out there, but basically just small, colourful, aquarium fish, really.
07:29Exactly what you'd expect to see on a tropical coral reef.
07:33I've drawn a blank underwater, so I decide to head to the port and speak to the people who know these waters best, the local fishermen.
07:50They tell me this is not the only attack that's happened in the area.
07:57I was sent to see an old fisherman known as Papa Chuchu.
08:03Everybody here tells me you attacked. Can you tell me how did that happen?
08:09He was out in a small boat called a Sampan, fishing off the reef with just a hand line.
08:24Papa Chuchu was pulling up tuna when all of a sudden his boat was struck from beneath by a big marlin.
08:34So you're fishing for tuna, and this marlin just came from nowhere.
08:42The force of the marlin smashed the Sampan in half.
08:46And worse.
08:48As he hit the water, Papa Chuchu realised that he'd been impaled by the fish's spear-like bill.
08:55He had to wrench it out of his buttock before other fishermen could haul him to safety.
09:01Do you still have a scar? Do you still have a mark?
09:05Oh, in here?
09:07Yeah, in here.
09:08In there?
09:09Yeah. And out here?
09:10Right.
09:13Well, there are definitely marlin in these waters here, as Papa Chuchu knows only too well.
09:18And what makes them potentially so dangerous is this.
09:22You've got this hard, elongated, pointed bill.
09:26And behind that, you've got a lot of mass.
09:28I mean, some species you're talking up to over a thousand pounds.
09:32So you can have an awful lot of energy concentrated on a fairly small point.
09:35And in that situation, if you happen to get in the way of that, that can end very badly.
09:44But marlin are predominantly an open water fish.
09:48Could they really be a threat to swimmers on a beach?
09:54I've heard that one type of marlin can frequent shallow water.
09:57But are they here?
10:02To find out, I enlist the help of a renowned game fisherman, Mr. Hyeong.
10:08This is all marlin?
10:10That's it.
10:12He catches prize-winning marlin on nothing but a hand line.
10:18And relishes the challenge of this kind of fishing.
10:21Hand-to-hand combat that takes the rod out of the equation.
10:26I've fished marlin before, but that's with rod and reel.
10:32What we're doing here is no rod.
10:35It's basically a hand line.
10:37We've got out-riggers to keep the line spread.
10:40And we'll have the lures skipping behind the boats.
10:43What's going to be interesting is actually getting a fish in on that and a pair of gloves.
10:48A hand line transmits a fish's strength in the most direct way possible.
10:53With no rod and reel to help me, there'll be just a thin line between me and a very powerful running fish.
11:02So, ready. Just a case of waiting, but also watching, because it's possible we might see something in the moments before one of the lures is taken.
11:11Marlin hits their prey on the move, so we keep the boat at a fast, steady speed.
11:20For several hours, there's nothing.
11:31In this heat, concentration becomes a challenge.
11:34But then...
11:35I thought it was a hit.
11:36Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
11:37Go!
11:38I'm in Indonesia, investigating a bizarre case of death by impalement.
11:59I'm out in blue water, fishing for my first suspect, the marlin.
12:08And something big has taken my lure.
12:11Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
12:12Go!
12:13No, it's off!
12:14It's off!
12:15It's off!
12:16It's off!
12:17It's off!
12:18It's off!
12:19It's off!
12:20It's off!
12:21Look!
12:22Yeah, that was a fish.
12:23That was a fish.
12:24That was a big fish.
12:25I don't know what went wrong there.
12:26If we didn't accelerate quick enough or...
12:29When I pull the line in, I see the lure has gone.
12:32Most likely than not, securing it failed.
12:35In theory, that's unbreakable.
12:38I felt that around my hand.
12:41We accelerated.
12:42Basically did everything right.
12:44But that shouldn't have happened.
12:46Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
12:47It just jumped out there.
12:48Look at it.
12:49There he goes, there he goes, there he goes, there he goes, there he goes, there he goes.
12:52So that's an equipment failure.
12:54I think that comes under.
12:55Yeah.
12:56Coming so close is frustrating.
13:01But at least I know that marlin are here.
13:04Now I need to know which species.
13:06So I get a line back in the water.
13:08And eventually, we get another chance.
13:12We gun the throttle to set the hook.
13:25There's just a thin hand line and a pair of gloves between me and this monster fish.
13:31Once I'm sure the fish is hooked, we stop the engines.
13:42It's going down.
13:43It's going down, I think.
13:45We've seen this fish out of the water.
13:47So it's a sizable fish.
13:49It's a couple of hundred pounds, I'd say, easily.
13:54This powerful fish is making me question my decision to shun rod and reel.
13:59Hauling it in is back-breaking work, and the line is starting to cut through my gloves.
14:11I'm getting about a yard of line every two-handed pull.
14:22I've not been counting, but I'm guessing this took a good 200 yards or so off.
14:27I had to let the fish run to avoid snapping the lines.
14:32But now, I have to expend energy to pull all this line back in.
14:38The sun is hot, and my arm and back muscles are burning.
14:42I've almost got the mull into the boat, but this is no time to relax.
14:50Many fish can be unpredictable to the last, surprising you with a final burst of energy.
14:58It's just come off.
15:01It's just come off.
15:02I can't quite believe it.
15:12At the very last moment of an epic hour-long battle, the fish has managed to spit the hook.
15:21But all is not lost, because I got an ID.
15:26It looked like a black marlin.
15:28I saw that thing completely propel itself out of the water eight or nine foot long.
15:34If I'm still in any doubt, can these things be dangerous, potentially harmful to people?
15:39Well, seeing that thing move at speed, you know, absolutely.
15:47Unlike many open-water predators, black marlin are known to come close to shore to feed.
15:52So I have a suspect, but I also have some doubts.
16:02Back on dry land, I return to the scene of the crime.
16:05This time, I come across dive instructor Nasroun.
16:09Were you here on the day when the woman is injured in the beach here?
16:15I was here, but I was inside there.
16:18Where do they bring her out?
16:19This behind the restaurant here.
16:20Yeah.
16:21The water, it's here.
16:22Yeah.
16:24You ever seen marlin here?
16:25Yeah, but it's a little bit far away from the beach.
16:27But this close now?
16:28Yeah, no.
16:29So do you think there's any possibility that marlin could cause this?
16:32No.
16:33No.
16:34The first is too shallow.
16:35Yes.
16:36And the second is, the marlin is too big.
16:37So if it was a marlin, the injury would be much bigger than the ship?
16:38Yeah, it must be the head with one, you know.
16:43The marlin may have the weaponry, but I can't place it at the scene of the crime.
16:47So he's absolutely adamant that it wasn't a marlin. He's never seen a marlin anywhere near this beach.
17:09The other thing he said is even a small marlin is going to cause much more visible damage if it hits you in the head.
17:18So that means I'm looking for something else.
17:24There's something out there in the shallows as dangerous as a marlin, and I need to find it.
17:39I'm in Indonesia, investigating the gruesome death of a snorkeller just yards from the beach.
17:53With no clear suspects, I head to the hospital where the victim was treated.
18:01I know that the woman was still alive when she was brought to this hospital here,
18:05and I know that she had some kind of injury to the head,
18:08but other than that, at the moment, I don't really know anything else.
18:16Perhaps the nature of her injuries will bring me closer to identifying the killer.
18:23I managed to track down the nurse who treated her.
18:26Lily Norsanti has agreed to talk to me about the wounds that she treated.
18:31Can you describe the condition of the patient to me when you first saw her?
18:35She tells me the woman had a bandage over her eye when she was first brought in,
18:43and that the stab wound underneath went directly through her eyeball.
18:49This is new information, but something doesn't add up.
18:54How could her eye have been penetrated if she was wearing a snorkeling mask?
18:58But if she is injured in the eye, I would expect pieces of plastic also to cause injuries.
19:07What the nurse now tells me could be a key detail.
19:11Just moments before the attack, the woman's husband had called out to her, beckoning her back to the beach.
19:18She lifted her head above the water to respond, and in doing so, removed her mask, exposing her eyes.
19:32That actually really opens things up a lot.
19:39It doesn't necessarily mean that it was a large, powerful animal that can fracture the skull that I'm looking for.
19:45It could well be something considerably smaller.
19:48I may not be looking for a marlin-sized fish after all.
19:55The nurse tells me that the physician who treated the woman is here too.
20:00So I asked Dr. Andi Fasihi about his initial assessment of the patient.
20:06The fact that it did turn out to be fatal, did you have any idea what, why, you know, what could have caused it?
20:14The first possibility is maybe penetrated the brain, and the second possibility is maybe from the toxin.
20:20Right, okay, so it could have just been mechanical damage, but going deeper than just the eye socket, or you say possibly some toxin.
20:30Okay.
20:34There was no autopsy, so an exact cause of death was not established.
20:40But I know of one venomous possibility that lives in these waters.
20:45The stingray.
20:46Stingrays are found in both fresh and salt water, and are known to bury themselves in sand as camouflage.
20:57This makes them a potential menace underfoot on beaches like the one where the attack took place.
21:05But they can also attack while swimming, striking with lightning blows if they feel threatened.
21:10And swimmers have fallen victim, including, most famously, the TV naturalist Steve Irwin in 2006.
21:22Given what I now know about the victim's wounds, I'd like a closer look at the kind of stingray found in these waters.
21:28And a discarded catch, given to me by a fisherman, presents that opportunity.
21:37They don't really eat stingray here, but they do catch them occasionally.
21:39And someone's caught this, bit of line still coming out the mouth here.
21:50Still going to be a little bit careful with this, even though it's dead, because that is still, that spine is still sharp and pointed.
21:57And the venom is still going to be active.
22:06A lot of stingrays are actually quite drab coloured, but some are pretty bright.
22:10And, you know, this one, really pretty.
22:13It's bright blue all over it.
22:14In body plan, it's pretty much generic stingray.
22:18It's this flattened disc with the tail behind it.
22:21Big eyes here.
22:23And these holes behind the eyes are, that's where it takes in the water to pass over the gills.
22:29If it did what normal fish do, which is take the water in through the mouth,
22:33because it's flat to the bottom, it's just going to get a mouthful and therefore, you know, gills full of sand and mud and all sorts of rubbish.
22:40So clean water comes in here, passes over the gills and then passes out.
22:45The gills slits here.
22:48This is the mouth.
22:50There are teeth, but they're very small.
22:53Not sharp teeth, but quite powerful jaws with sort of crushing pads.
23:00As for the actual spine, though, there's actually two.
23:05There's one long one and one short one.
23:06The main spine there, that is about, it's a good two inches long.
23:14So in terms of that injury to the snorkeller, I mean, the first thing to say is that with stingrays, normally the injury is to the foot, to the ankle, if you're really unlucky, to the abdomen.
23:24For one to strike it in the face, not impossible, but I think that would be very, very unlikely.
23:31But in terms of the actual nature and shape of the weapon, I think we are looking at something very, very similar to that.
23:39If it was one of these spines that stabbed the woman through the eye, then venom could have been the cause of death.
23:49So is the stingray the killer I'm looking for?
23:56To further this line of inquiry, I head to Sam Ratulangi University to track down an expert.
24:06Professor Jani Cousin is a marine biologist and an authority on aquatic stings.
24:12I do have a picture, which is, which is rather shocking, but if you...
24:17I show the professor a photograph of the victim's wound that I've been asked not to broadcast.
24:24Usually, if, with venom, you know, the coloration of the worms is not like this.
24:31It's more, more purple, or more grayish, or maybe more bluish, but this kind of worms, as far as I know, not by venom part of these stingrays.
24:45The appearance of the wound, you're saying, would probably be different.
24:49It would be more discolored because of the venom.
24:51Yes, yes.
24:52Enzymes contained in stingray venom would kill tissue cells, leading to discoloration.
25:02But this wound doesn't show that.
25:07So what could have caused it?
25:12I'm baffled by this case.
25:14The most likely culprits aren't holding up to scrutiny.
25:17But I'm now hearing about other mysterious stabbing attacks in a remote community on the other side of the island.
25:31This guy's actually been hit twice.
25:33It actually sunk his bows.
25:36I'm wondering if there's a link.
25:38This time it was fatal.
25:47My investigation into the gruesome death of a snorkeller off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia has taken a new turn.
26:00Reports have reached me of similar attacks on a remote community in the waters off the main island.
26:06A place rarely visited by outsiders.
26:08Sampella is no ordinary fishing village.
26:19It's a stilted city constructed directly over the reef and completely cut off from the mainland.
26:28It's home to the Bajau people, commonly known as Sea Gypsies, who moved here more than 60 years ago,
26:34after centuries living a hard nomadic existence in wooden boats on the open ocean.
26:43Bajau daily life still revolves around the sea.
26:48I'm told this spate of bloody attacks in their watery backyard has sent a wave of terror through the community.
26:54I meet with local fishermen to hear their stories first hand.
27:00Hello. I'm Jeremy.
27:02I hear you had, you have a story about a fish, a fish that attacked you?
27:07This man was out at night in his canoe, when all of a sudden a fish leapt from the water and stabbed him in the thigh.
27:16So, this happened to you at night in Maland?
27:23Yes, sir.
27:25This is significant.
27:27I'm talking to someone who actually saw what attacked him.
27:31What was the fish that did this?
27:33Ikan, Abba.
27:35Ikan, sorry.
27:37Sorry. Sorry fish.
27:39It's not a name I recognise, but he tells me that it was roughly the length of his forearm.
27:46So this, sort of this, this kind of size.
27:49Other fishermen show me evidence of similar attacks.
27:52So, so where did they, they hit?
27:54And the second time was, was here.
27:59This guy's actually been hit twice, and so what originally sounded like an isolated incident, I'm just talking to people in this village, it's not an uncommon occurrence.
28:13And this, it was night time. Maland?
28:18Again and again I hear of attacks by these fish.
28:22The stabbing sounds similar to that of the snorkeller in Dongala.
28:27But she was attacked in the daytime, and these all occurred at night.
28:35I'm picking up what feels as if it's significant information.
28:39I've got a name, they call this fish Ikansori, it means sorry fish.
28:43Now I don't know what that is, but this is not a fish that bites, it's a fish that stabs.
28:48And it does that when it jumps out of the water.
28:51They don't sound like big fish, but it appears the injuries they cause can prove fatal.
29:03Like the piranha, small can be dangerous.
29:06I meet Nuhari, whose brother Halakang was killed by one of these sorry fish.
29:14Can you tell me exactly what happened to your brother?
29:18He tells me his brother was out fishing one night with his cousin.
29:24Their boats were side by side, and they had just lit their lanterns.
29:29When a sorry fish jumped out of the water, hitting Halakang in the ribs, and knocking him into the water.
29:36His cousin pulled him out, and paddled him back to the village, where they looked at the wound.
29:46Apparently it wasn't a very big wound, it wasn't bleeding a lot, and he wasn't in a lot of pain.
29:53But, about an hour after arriving in the village, he died.
30:01Did they see how big this was? Was this a big sorry fish?
30:04He estimates that the fish was around three feet in length.
30:11So, certain details are different, but otherwise, this very much fits a pattern.
30:16It was night time, and this fish jumped out of the water, and it inflicted a stab wound.
30:22One other difference in this case, this time it was fatal.
30:27One other thing strikes me.
30:29All of these attacks occurred after the fishermen had lit their lanterns.
30:36I've come across night time collisions with jumping fish before.
30:44In Nicaragua, tarpon jump when they're spooked by light.
30:49Other predators attack bait fish drawn in by the light.
30:52So, is light the trigger in San Pella.
30:57I really need to see what this fish is, this sorry fish.
31:00And what I've done, I've arranged to meet a couple of fishermen tonight.
31:03Obviously, I'm very anxious not to end up in the firing line myself.
31:07And normally, if there's a killer in the water, I feel fairly safe when I'm in a boat.
31:11But this is one occasion when, potentially, I'm not going to be.
31:19We paddle out into the dark ocean in the Bajau's handmade wooden canoes.
31:27These little boats offer minimal protection from the elements,
31:31or from anything leaping out of the water.
31:33I'm hoping this isn't going to make me a target.
31:45As I pan my flashlight across the surface,
31:48I'm hoping to provoke a response from whatever is out there.
31:54There, there, there, there, there, there, there, there.
32:04I'm on the water with Indonesian sea gypsies to find out if bright lights at night
32:12can turn the mysterious sorry fish into a lethal leaping spear.
32:17Oh!
32:27There, there, there, there, there, there, there, there, there.
32:31Yeah, I'm seeing stuff in the distance.
32:34There are small fish jumping out of the water when the light hits.
32:41Fish are reacting to the light, but they're heading away, not towards me.
32:45That's like a sort of a panic reaction, I think.
32:49When fish are alarmed, they just take off,
32:52and sometimes that takes them out of the water.
32:55But then, I see something bigger.
32:58Something there, there was something that had jumped,
33:02there was an arc, and it was about six foot between where it came out of the water
33:06and where it went back in.
33:07It was a long, slender, leaping fish.
33:18And it fits the description of the sorry fish,
33:22held responsible for the deadly attacks here.
33:24I need a closer look.
33:30Nearby, some Bajau fishermen are paying out a long gill net.
33:37When the circle is closed, they will spook the fish into it.
33:41So that's the net paid out, it's gone out and formed a circle.
33:48And up to this point, we've been in stealth mode.
33:51But now, this is the moment apparently when they start making a bit of noise, banging the side of the boat,
33:59and crucially also lighting the lanterns.
34:01And this is when fish could start jumping.
34:06Normally, fish jumping, unless they're very big, is not a problem.
34:09But here, from what I've been hearing, there is this other fish, this sorry fish, which is not an enormous fish,
34:18but being hit by one of those, flying through the air, can be fatal.
34:23So this is a moment of mixed emotions, curiosity to see what we get inside the net,
34:29but a certain amount of trepidation as well.
34:31We've got something in the net here.
34:46It's not a fish, but this could be even more dangerous.
34:51It's a sea snake.
34:53It's very characteristic. It's a banded crate.
34:55This is one of the most venomous snakes there is.
34:58And it's about a foot behind me, and I'm in a boat that is just so tippy.
35:04I'm feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
35:07He's tearing the mesh of the net. I think he's going to try and extract it.
35:20I'm looking for one potential killer that launches itself into the air,
35:24so I'm a bit nervous about anything coming out of the water.
35:26Also, falling in the water at any stage is something you really want to avoid.
35:32Having seen what's, you know, one of the things that's in the water,
35:35I must say I'm liking this particular situation less and less.
35:42That's enough close calls for one night.
35:45But I got my first sighting of the fish that appears to be responsible for the deaths and injuries here.
35:50And it could be the culprit in the case of the stabbed snorkeller.
35:59But I'm left with one nagging question.
36:02How does a fish reacting to lantern light at night connect to an attack that happened in broad daylight?
36:08Back on the main island, there's been a development.
36:17Word has gotten out to the family of the snorkelling victim, and they've invited me to join them at a local restaurant.
36:22Lena Hermawan was 39 and the mother of two young boys.
36:31Her husband Benny and his cousin Thurley were both at the beach the day Lena was attacked.
36:37I've been walking about 20 meters when I heard people screaming at my back.
36:48I turned around and saw my wife being carried by a man.
36:52Thurley tells me she was actually in the water with Lena when the tragedy happened.
36:59After several hours snorkelling together, they were finally heading back towards the shore.
37:04Suddenly, two fish leapt clear of the water.
37:10One narrowly missed the women.
37:13The other struck Lena in the face.
37:16After the fish that should be at the eye, it's blocked anywhere, everywhere.
37:23Everywhere it's blocked. Many, many blocks.
37:27Then Benny shows me an item from the scene that he thinks might interest me.
37:32Lena's necklace and earrings.
37:38So she was wearing this?
37:40Yes.
37:42This is potentially a vital clue.
37:46The missing link between night and day.
37:51As sunlight sparkled off this jewellery, did it provoke a reaction from the fish?
37:55Just as my flashlight did.
37:56I remember a story in Botswana where a tigerfish was attracted by the shiny crucifix around a man's neck.
38:07It's possible the fish that impaired Lena was reacting in the same way, mistaking flashes of light from her jewellery for potential prey.
38:17If you're a predator, you strike first and ask questions later.
38:27Whatever the case, Lena was extremely unlucky.
38:30According to her husband, the attack happened at five o'clock in the afternoon.
38:40Reef fish can be habitual feeders, so I'm returning to the beach at the same time of day to see if I can find this coral killer.
38:48Instead of actually fishing in the conventional way, I'm thinking of doing a different kind of hunting.
39:01I've seen the sorry fish that the sea gypsies hold responsible for the attacks in Sampella.
39:06And I think it could be the culprit here, too.
39:12To prove that, I first have to place it at the scene of the crime and get a positive ID.
39:21At first, all I see are the same innocent-looking fish I witnessed on my previous dive.
39:26But then, something else flashes into view.
39:45I'm on a reef off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, on the trail of a coral killer.
39:51Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of something I've not seen in these waters before.
40:04My underwater camera captures a streamlined fish with a dagger-like snout and a mouth full of teeth.
40:14This looks like the fish I saw out on the Sampella Reef, the fish the sea gypsies call sorry.
40:22In the daylight, I can see that it's what I know as a needlefish.
40:28And it's clearly at home here, on the reef where the snorkeller was struck.
40:34The predatory needlefish can grow to five feet long, and those elongated jaws hold as many as 200 teeth.
40:47When closed, its jaws form a rigid and sharp point, like the end of a dagger.
40:51It's easy to imagine the damage this fish could do, travelling at its top speed of 40 miles an hour.
41:05I could be looking at Lena's killer.
41:11But the only way to know for certain if that jaw could pierce a woman's eye socket is to get my hands on one.
41:17But there's no way I'll capture this speed demon underwater.
41:25The bony-jawed needlefish is also tough to hook.
41:28Oh, it is, it is, it is, it's a fish.
41:41Here we go.
41:42That's off.
41:43I think in a way I might have been lucky just to keep it on that long.
41:55The trouble is they got very bony jaws.
41:58That didn't stay on.
42:06With fishing time running out, I decide to switch things up.
42:10I change boats, getting myself lower to the water.
42:15And employ a little island ingenuity.
42:19What the locals do for this fish is they use this.
42:23It's just a piece of rope that's been unpicked.
42:29Something like a needlefish.
42:30Lots of small teeth comes along, chomps onto that,
42:32and those teeth just get tangled up in all those strands.
42:54Eventually, something strikes.
42:59OK, stop, stop, stop, stop.
43:03There's one on here, there's one on here.
43:05I'm taking it very, very gently.
43:09It's secured only by a tangle of fibres,
43:13so bringing this fish in is a delicate operation.
43:16I'm relying purely on tangle, not on hook hold.
43:19This is a completely different way of playing a fish.
43:23It's keeping enough tension.
43:28That's a needlefish.
43:33I can finally take a good look at this fish's lethal business end.
43:39Well, I've seen these in the water, but to see this close up
43:48is really something very different.
43:53Holding this needlefish with its large, light-sensitive eyes,
43:58it's easy to imagine how it could have been drawn to Lena's jewellery
44:01and startled by the Sampella fisherman's lanterns.
44:05But I can't take my eyes off that long, sharp jaw.
44:10If you're a small fish, then the weapons you have to worry about
44:13are those needle-sharp teeth.
44:16But if you're a person, like the snorkeller, in the water,
44:21then it's not so much those teeth,
44:23it's the whole snout that becomes the weapon.
44:26And you just have a very, very small point on the end.
44:32And even something that size, moving at speed through the water,
44:36that is almost like a dagger.
44:38And there are numerous places in the body
44:40where if that went in just a couple of inches, that could be fatal.
44:45For me, this case is finally closed.
44:48The end of one of my most unusual investigations.
44:53Normally, when I'm looking for a fish that can kill a person,
44:58I'm looking for something big.
45:00But not always.
45:02Sometimes, small is deadly.
45:05And the needlefish is a perfect example of this.
45:09As always, this was a case of somebody being in the wrong place
45:14at the wrong time and being almost unimaginably unlucky.
45:18The chances of the same thing happening to you or me
45:22are almost non-existent.
45:24So no need to keep away from the beach.
45:27But knowing what I know now,
45:29if I ever see shoals of small baitfish thronging the shallows,
45:33perhaps occasionally scattering or jumping out of the water
45:37in response to some unseen threat,
45:40perhaps that's one time not to get in the water.