Giulia Manfrini, 36, from Turin in Italy, was in the water in Mentawai Islands Regency on Friday when she was stabbed by the bill of a swordfish, according to local reports.

"Unexpectedly, a swordfish jumped toward Manfrini and stuck it [the bill] right in the chest of the female tourist," acting head of the Mentawai Islands' Disaster Management Agency Lahmudin Siregar told the Indonesian news agency Antara.

Local police told the agency that the surfer and travel agent caught the attention of two witnesses who were also foreign nationals by waving for help, who took her to a nearby clinic, where she was pronounced dead.

The region where Ms Manfrini was attacked is known to be popular among surfers.

James Colston, who co-founded the travel agency AWAVE Travel with Ms Manfrini, wrote on the company's Instagram page: "It is with the deepest sadness that I have to announce the passing of Giulia Manfrini, one of AWAVE Travel's co-founders.

"Giulia was surfing in remote Indonesia and suffered a freak accident. Unfortunately, even with the brave efforts of her partner, local resort staff and doctors, Giulia couldn't be saved. We believe she died doing what she loved, in a place that she loved."

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Mr Colston said Ms Manfrini's "infectious enthusiasm for surf, snow and life will be remembered by all that came in contact with her" and that she "couldn't travel without people falling in love with her smile, laugh and endless stoke".

Tributes are flooding in on Ms Manfrini's personal Instagram page, which has more than 27,000 followers.

While there have been few reports of swordfish attacks on humans, research say they can be extremely dangerous when provoked.