Pha Ngan authorities issue box jellyfish warning
Play
Koh Pha Ngan authorities have warned people to beware of box jellyfish after a French boy died on Saturday after being stung while swimming at a beach of this resort island off Surat Thani province.
The five-year-old French boy, who was on vacation with his parents. was rushed to Koh Pa Ngan Hospital but succumbed to the venom.
Phuketwan online reported that PhaNgan acting district chief Kasitdet Thongchu on Monday asked local administrative authorities and beachside hotels to post signs warning of poisonous jellyfish and prepare first aid measures in case of stings.
Dr Yongyos Thammawut of the provincial public health office in Surat Thani said the boy went into shock from stings from the poisonous tentacles of a box jellyfish while with his parents on Khuad beach on Saturday. He died as his parents and a guide were taking him to Pha Ngan hospital for treatment, he added.
The online news site said the boy became entangled in the box jellyfish’s tentacles, which were 20 cm long.. Fully grown box jellyfish, some of the mostpoisonous animals on earth, can reach three metres.
They can be found seasonally off the beaches of Ko Lanta and Haad Nopparatthara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Marine Park of Krabi province, Nam Bor bay in Phuket province, Chaam beach in Phetchaburi province, and some beaches on Tao, Samui and PhaNgan islands.
