A man was attacked by a group of ferocious piranha fish in Liuzhou, Guangxi, Nanguo Morning Post reported.

The dangerous freshwater predators, which are native to South America, attacked the man as he was washing his dog in the Liujiang River on Saturday.

Fishery authorities said the banned foreign species was brought to China by criminal gangs for sale as ornamental tropical fish, but somehow escaped to become part of the local ecosystem.

Without any natural predators, the fish pose a threat to the marine ecology of some Chinese waterways.

The man, surnamed Zhang, suffered hand injuries in the attack.

(China.org.cn July 9, 2012)

《南国早报》报道，广西柳州一名男子遭到了一群凶猛的食人鱼攻击。

食人鱼是南美淡水捕食性鱼类。周六，张先生在柳江河给小狗洗澡时受到袭击。

渔政部门透露，这种被禁进口的外来物种最早是作为热带观赏鱼被不法人士引入国内的，随后它们得以逃脱，并成为当地生态系统的一部分。

由于缺少天敌，它们给我国某些水域的生态造成威胁。

据悉，张先生的手掌被咬伤。