Hungry Piranhas Feast on Tourists Toes in Brazilian Beach

> at Bonhams on January 19, 2009 in London, England. (2009 Getty Images)

They don’t call them man eaters for nothing.

A plethora of blood-thirsty, man-eating piranhas have swarmed a beach in western Brazil, leaving tourists toeless, bitten and scared.

The fierce little monsters making their way along the river beach have not killed anyone - yet.

Nonetheless, a spokesman for the municipal government of Caceres in Mato Grosso state says at least 15 people have been bitten in the past two weeks off Daveron beach.

Gonzaga Junior added that tourists have also lost chunks of their legs and ankles.

The spokesman said piranhas are common in rivers on the outskirts of the city. But this is the first time they have appeared in waters off the beach inside the city.

Large posters have been posted on the beach to warn swimmers about the fish.

The news of the hungry fish comes just as FIFA President Sepp Blatter pushes for beach soccer to be included in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Blatter said there already are proposals to put the sport on the Rio program but "the local organizing committee needs to take the initiative."

Blatter told the ANSA news agency the event belongs in the Rio Games because it was born on Brazilian beaches.

Beach soccer could probably be inserted on the Olympic program as a discipline of soccer, not as a separate sport, meaning it would only need approval by the IOC's executive board ahead of the games.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press