The girl had been on a family holiday with her grandmother and other children when she fell into the water in Rio Maicuru in Monte Alegre.

By the time she was pulled from the water, the killer fish had stripped all the flesh from her legs.

Her grandmother was quoted by local media as saying: 'I tried to hold onto her, but with all the other children around she slipped out of my grasp.

'I couldn't see her any more when we got to the bank.'

She raised the alarm with locals but by the time the girl's body had been recovered she had been partly devoured, according to Brazilian media including Globo, Ariquemes Agora and A noticia Mais.

The body was sent to the morgue of the Municipal Hospital of Monte Alegre and was subsequently released to family members for burial.

The girl had been spending the holidays with her grandparents and had been taken out for the day in the boat when the accident happened.

Police are investigating the circumstances, but said it was a tragic accident that was unlikely to result in any charges.

(dailymail.co.uk)