Stingray Stabs Man in His Stomach During Surf Lifesaving Training Event, ‘Narrowly Missing Vital Organs’

A man in New Zealand is recovering from a near-fatal stingray injury.

On Tuesday, Dec. 30, Jeremy Bain was stung in the abdomen while training for a surf lifesaving event on Waikanae Beach, on the Kāpiti Coast, according to The New Zealand Herald and Stuff.

Construction company Rockhard Civil and Drainage confirmed the incident in a post on their Facebook page, writing, “Well, do we have a holiday story for you. Jeremy, aka our elite office guy/project manager, decided to replicate Steve Irwin in the holidays.”

Australian zookeeper and conservationist Steve Irwin was fatally attacked by a stingray in 2006. He died at the age of 44.

Rockhard Civil and Drainage’s post continued, “While training for a surf lifesaving event, he accidentally started a wrestle with a stingray. The Stingray stabbed him in the abdomen, very narrowly missing his vital organs.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The company added, “He’s on the mend, after a short stay in hospital, and is rather upset his brand new wetsuit got cut off him. If you see him out on site, give him a strong ‘Crikey’ callout.”

Photos shared alongside the Facebook post show Bain lying on the sand as emergency services prepared to transport him in an ambulance.

Bain described his injury as a “freak accident” as he recalled how the situation unfolded to The New Zealand Herald.

“The stingray did nothing wrong and I did nothing wrong. It was just a freak accident,” he told the outlet. “I jumped in murky water, landed on it, it got a fright, and in pure self-defense in its natural habitat, it flicked up its barb.”

He revealed that 45 minutes after being stung by the stingray, he began to feel a burn that continued for half a day.

“It burnt like hell,” Bain told The New Zealand Herald. “Once the burning went away, I felt no pain, which I assume must have been the venom from the sting.”

Bain said he was grateful that the stingray didn’t strike another area of his body.

“If I could get stabbed in the stomach, that would be the ideal spot because it’s one of the only locations around the stomach area which is quite thick because it’s got a lot of muscle and fat tissue,” he told The New Zealand Herald.

Wellington Free Ambulance confirmed to the outlet that they attended the scene.

Bain’s wife, who was taking part in the Whakatāne Surf Life Saving Club at the time, was also present to provide aid, according to Stuff.

Despite the incident, Bain said his sons went back to enjoying the water the next day.

He added that he’s feeling back to normal but is waiting for medical staff to give him the green light to return to the water.

PEOPLE has contacted the Wellington Free Ambulance and Whakatāne Surf Life Saving Club for comment.