【2003 Archives】

003 ArchivesThai sea turtle that lived in a wishing pond and ate nearly 1,000 coins over the years has died.

The 25-year-old turtle, named Omsin (Thai for "bank") was found with an engorged stomach full of coins back in February. She had a reportedly successful seven-hour surgery, but went into a coma later due to complications, the vet who operated on her said on Facebook.

SEE ALSO: Turtle living in wishing pond gets surgery after years of eating of coins left by tourists

Omsin died on Tuesday morning.

She lived in Si Racha, a town on the east coast of Thailand. The coins were thrown into the wishing pond for good luck by visitors.

After the coins were removed, she developed blood poisoning and serious intestinal problems. Her vet, Nantarika Chansue, said her intestines had twisted around itself in an effort to adjust to the empty space that was originally occupied by the coins, causing what is termed a "volvulus."

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An emergency corrective operation was conducted but Omsin slipped into a coma after, she said.

The coins also caused the turtle's blood to have a heavy metal concentration at 200 times the normal rate, which led to slow recovery.

They had stuck in Omsin's belly as a 20 x 23 x 30 cm (7.8 x 9 x 11 in.) lump, which was pressing down on her other organs and preventing her from diving, breathing or eating properly.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The turtle had been scheduled to be returned to a turtle pond managed by the Royal Thai Navy on March 23.

"We did our best, but it was not good enough," Nantarika wrote. "Thank you for being my friend, Bank."

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