Carnivorous fish injure 10 Argentine river bathers in area where 70 were wounded last month

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – An attack by a school of carnivorous fish has injured at least 10 people bathing in an Argentine river in the last 48 hours.

The attack took place in the Parana River in Rosario some 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of Buenos Aires. Seventy people who were cooling off from high temperatures were also injured here in late December by the same piranha-like fish. They included seven children who lost parts of their fingers or toes.

The latest attack by the "palometas" was confirmed Saturday. They've been described by the local director of lifeguards as "a type of piranha, big, voracious and with sharp teeth that can really bite."

Experts say unusually high temperatures during the Austral summer and lower numbers of species such as caiman that preyed on the fish could be causing the attacks.