Italian bloke sneezes out .22 bullet

An Italian labourer seriously impressed doctors by sneezing out a .22 bullet he'd accidentally picked up during lively New Year's Eve celebrations in Naples.

Darco Sangermano, 28, copped a stray round in the right side of his head while enjoying the traditional trigger-happy knees-up with his girlfriend.

Cue a dash to hospital, but before the sawbones had a chance to move in, Sangermano ejected the offending projectile from his nostril.

The victim admitted to a "strong headache", but following a quick check-up, was discharged and returned home to Turin.

Professor Sid Berrone, of Turin's Molinette hospital, subsequently carried out a "tidy up operation" to remove bone fragments from Sangermano's nose.

He explained: "He was a very lucky man, he could have been easily killed. The bullet went through his temple, behind his eye, entered the nasal cavity and then became lodged in his nostril before he sneezed it out. Amazing." ®

Bootnote

Three people suffered bullet strikes in Naples on the same night as Sangermano, Sky News reports. Another was "killed after being hit by a stray round as he watched fireworks with his family in a suburb on the outskirts of the city".