8-year-old boy bitten by underwater creature while on Montreal beach vacation

A California film and television editor watched his Montreal vacation transform from a monstrous horror film into an emergency response hero movie before his eyes.

The saga began when her eight-year-old son, Alex, was attacked by a creature in the water while he was on a beach in Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau on June 26.

Alex found himself screaming on the platform, covered in blood.

“It was like the first scene of Jaws,” the boy’s father, George Mandl, said from his home in Los Angeles.

Mandl said he was playing hide-and-seek with his son Alex on the Aquazilla inflatable play structure at Jean-Doré Beach when his son began screaming in pain.

“He was in the water, next to the raft, and immediately started screaming, kicking and struggling,” Mandl said.

A lifeguard immediately pulled Alex out of the water by his life jacket, put him on the dock, and Mandl ran to his son.

“There was blood coming out of his leg in several places,” Mandl said. “He had been attacked by a fish, we think. The strange thing was that as soon as he came out of the water, he was still screaming and struggling. That’s when something clicked in my parental brain, and I ran over to him and saw there was blood everywhere.”

The working theory is that a muskellunge or “muskey” fish bit Alex and then cut him while struggling after the attack.

The muskellunge is a long, large fish with sharp teeth, scaly cheeks and gill covers. Mandl spoke to several people familiar with the fish and believes the bite marks are consistent with the fish, which is native to the St. Lawrence River.

If true, this would be a rare occurrence since muskies rarely bite humans.

After the attack, rescuers quickly moved in to place Alex in a boat, take him to shore and treat his injuries.

“They were very quick and I’m very grateful for the way they handled the situation at the park,” Mandl said. “I was really impressed with the team.”

He was then taken to the Montreal Children’s Hospital, where he received stitches and was examined by an infectious disease specialist.

“They treated it like any other dog bite, an open wound that would require cleaning,” Mandl said.

Alex Mandl, 8, spent part of his vacation at the Montreal Children’s Hospital after being bitten by something underwater while he was at Jean-Doré Beach in Parc Jean-Drapeau. (George Mandl)

A spokesperson for Parc Jean-Drapeau said the attack was under investigation.

“Different avenues are being explored, both in terms of causes and the deployment of actions in order to continue to improve the quality of the experience of beach users,” we can read in a press release from the communications team of the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau.

Mandl said his son was walking with a limp and his wounds were being bandaged.

“He’s not allowed to go back in the water yet, that’s the doctor’s orders,” he explained. “His wounds aren’t completely healed, things are starting to heal.”

This ordeal is not something that either father or son will ever forget.

“It’s not what I wish for a parent,” the father said. “It’s a horrible feeling to see your child bleeding for unknown reasons. It was very sudden, very surprising.”