French boy, 5, dies from jellyfish sting in Pangkor Island
A five-year-old French boy died after being stung by jellyfish while swimming at the Teluk Nipah beach in Pangkor Island on Monday.
Manjung District police chief ACP Nor Omar Sappi said in the 6.45pm incident, the victim suddenly screamed in pain while swimming with his family there.
“People close by the victim rushed him to the beach before realising that he had been stung by jellyfish.
“While the boy was brought ashore, he fell unconscious and his family took him to the Pangkor Health Clinic,” Nor Omar said in a statement released yesterday.
He said he received a call, about 7.30pm on Monday, from the health clinic staff informing him that the victim had been confirmed dead.
The medical examination carried out on the victim showed tentacle sting marks on the abdomen, left hand and left leg.
An autopsy on the victim at Seri Manjung Hospital, Nor Omar added, found that the cause of death was due to jellyfish envenomation - poisonous secretion of an animal - and the case was classified as sudden death.
- Bernama
For a small child , the jellyfish sting can be particularly dangerous because the venom can cause body functions to shut down.
ReplyDeleteI have personally witnessed a case where a person nearly drowned because of a jellyfish sting.
The person was a reasonably good swimmer, but the pain was so excruciating it basically paralysed the person's legs, which led to him being unable to swim.
Fortunately in that case, there were other people in the water nearby who saw what was happening , and managed to rescue him.