A woman needed 20 stiches to her face after a pelican that was apparently diving for fish slammed into her while she was swimming in the sea off Florida.

Debbie Shoemaker of Toledo, Ohio, who was in vacation, was swimming Thursday near Treasure Island, near St.Petersburg, when she felt something violently crashed into her cheek.

Paramedics from the St. Petersburg Beach Fire Department took the woman to a local hospital, where 20 stitches were necessary to close the gash in her face.

The agency’s chief said he had never heard of a pellican colliding with a swimmer before.

An expert said the bird did not attack the woman, but it was rather diving for some prey when the woman involuntarily got in its way. The pellican died in the collision.

Pelicans grow up to 13 kg and can dive from heights of about 20 metres in their quest for prey.

Shoemaker, 50, returned to her home on Friday and is currently recovering from the incident, the Associated Press reports.