Live Fish Removed from 12-Year-Old's Lungs

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nil Barela was playing a game with his friends in a Khargone, India river, a common game where the object is to catch live fish and swallow them whole. It's certainly a bit weirder than our age-old game of hide-and-seek, but you know, different neighborhoods, right? But the game went horribly awry when, instead of swallowing the fish, Barela accidentally inhaled the nine-centimeter-long fish into his lungs.

The "common" game went awry when Barela accidentally inhaled the fish instead of swallowing it.

The boy realized quickly that not all was well and began having trouble breathing. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors found (shockingly) a massive lung obstruction. They operated on the boy immediately, a procedure that took about 45 minutes.

According to Dr. Pramod Jhawar, the fish was still alive when it was removed.

"The fish was alive and taking its last breath when the bronchoscopy was done."

Naturally, being out of water, the fish died soon thereafter. Anil is said to have made a full recovery from the surgery.