Man survives after shooting himself through head with speargun in diving accident

SCOTTBURGH, South Africa - A pastor who has been spearfishing for the past decade miraculously survived without any major injuries after he accidentally shot himself through the head with a speargun.

Connie Hallowell was spearfishing on Aug. 30 off of Scottburgh, a coastal town located outside of Durban, South Africa.

Hallowell said the accident happened after a wave crashed on him and smashed the loaded speargun against a reef, shooting the nearly 5-foot-long spear through his face. Photos show the arrow went into his cheek and out in front of his opposite ear.

Hallowell was helped out by a fisherman who was passing by and heard him calling for help in the water, he said. He was eventually airlifted to a trauma hospital.

“(The doctors) confirmed this is a miracle that it missed every vital organ and left me with slight numbness, which they expect will return back to normal within the next few weeks,” Hallowell said.

Hallowell suffered from an orbital fracture, but amazingly received no other serious injuries.

“I was discharged 48 hours after arriving at the hospital as the surgeon saw no further reason to keep me,” he explained.

Hallowell is a pastor at a church in Umkomaas, South Africa, and said he began reading the Bible as soon as he got his phone after the accident.

“I never thought I was going to die. I just knew that I wanted to live,” he said.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.