A MAN died after jumping into a lake to escape a swarm of bees only to be attacked by piranhas.

The 30-year-old was fishing with two friends by the shoreline of a lake in Brazil when they were targeted by the insects.

All three jumped into the piranha-infested water but one of them was unable to get out and drowned.

Specialist divers found his face, his ears and part of his body had lacerations left by the killer fish after recovering it around 13 feet (3.96 meters) from the shoreline.

The incident happened Oct. 31 in a rural area of Brasilandia de Minas, a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

The victim, whose body was recovered a day after the man went missing when divers with specialist equipment were mobilized, has not yet been named.

His family has been given permission to bury his body after investigators ruled a tragic accident had occurred and there was no sign of any crime.

It has not been made clear whether the fisherman drowned before he was attacked by piranhas or the fish played a part in his death by preventing him swimming to safety like his two friends.

Around 30 species of piranhas are said to inhabit South America’s lakes and rivers.

They have one of the strongest bites found in bony fishes thanks to their large jaw muscles attached closely to the tip of the jaw. Nearly 200 piranha attacks, all involving single bites to the feet, were reported in the first half of 2007 in an artificial lake near the city of Palmas in central Brazil.(SD-Agencies)