A teenager who jumped out of his canoe in a piranha-infested river in Bolivia, died from from bites by the flesh-eating fish, a British tabloid reported Friday.

The 18-year-old teenager, identified as Oscar Barbosa, is believed to have committed "suicide by piranha," according to The Sun.

The young fisherman bled to death after leaping into the water from his canoe. He suffered dozens of bites to his throat and face on Bolivia’s Yata River, local police chief Daniel Cayaya told The Sun. The chief said he believed Barbosa -- from Rosario del Yata in the north east of the country — meant to kill himself.

Cayaya said the teenager knew the river well and would have been aware that it is swarming with red piranhas at this time of year. He added that Barbosa may have been drunk.

The 14-inch piranha fish have razor sharp teeth and hunt in packs to strip their prey of flesh. They are known to devour large snakes and even jaguars in minutes.

Fatal attacks on humans are rare. But swimmers at a river beach in Brazil were attacked by hundreds of piranhas in September, The Sun reported.