Fisherman's Colon Perforated by Nearly 70cm Eel

Nearly 70cm Eel Leads to Emergency Surgery in Bangladesh

A 55-year-old fisherman in Bangladesh found himself in the operating room after a nearly 70-centimeter eel perforated his colon. He initially waited a day, hoping the animal would pass on its own, but it did not. The trinc day, doctors performed emergency surgery.

The news, dated September 24, 2026, included a stock photo and a single-word explanation of the event: accidentally.

Was it an accident? Skepticism surrounds the case

Few medical accounts generate as much buzz as an eel ending up where it shouldn't. The pattern is familiar: an animal, a bodily orifice, and an explanation requiring improbable choreography. Some joke about loose clothing being a factor, while others doubt the accidental version. The doubt isn't medical; it's statistical: how many times must one fish for a nearly 70-centimeter creature to find exactly that path?

What's striking is that the patient waited until the next day to seek help. That detail, more than the perforation itself, is what raises eyebrows.

Chinese Precedent: Eel as a Constipation Remedy

This isn't the first time an eel has ended up in an unexpected place. According to a forum comment cited by the Global Times, a man in Xinghua, Jiangsu province (China), decided to try a popular folk remedy for constipation: inserting a live eel into his anus. The animal traveled through the rectum to the colon, perforated the wall, and made its way into the abdomen. The result was intense pain and embarrassment, according to that account.

Citing a precedent doesn't make the Bangladesh case a copy, but it does explain why so many people read the word accidentally with a raised eyebrow.

What kind of animal was it? The photo didn't help

Adding to the confusion, the image accompanying the story showed a fish that not everyone identified as an eel. One reader suggested it was a sarracena eel, a different species.

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Did the eel survive? No one confirms clearly. Was it an accident? No one will prove it. What remains is a 55-year-old fisherman, a perforated colon, and a single word, accidentally, bearing the entire weight of a story that relies precisely on what cannot be proven.