A 14-year-old boy has died after being stung by a box jellyfish in Queensland.
Mark Angelo Ligmayo was at Eimeo beach, just north of Mackay, with his family on Saturday. His father, Nick Guinumtad, told the Courier Mail that his son had been standing in waist-high water for about 10 minutes when he came running out on to the beach, entwined in more than 2 metres of box jellyfish tentacles.
Surf life savers rushed to assist Mark but were unable to save him. He died later in Mackay Base hospital.
“It’s hard, to see your son trying to overcome it, it’s hard, to see your son dying in front of you,” Guinumtad told the Courier Mail.
He said surf lifeguards had dragged the beach for jellyfish before his son went for a swim.
Surf Life Saving Queensland spokesperson Jenny Rees said volunteer lifeguards did everything they could to save Mark.
“They got him out of the water and he had lots of tentacles around his legs, which they pulled off,” Rees told the ABC.
“A lot of vinegar was administered and CPR was administered immediately.”
Queensland police said a report would be prepared for the coroner.
Mark had only recently moved to Australia from the Philippines with his mother and sister. They were supposed to move in early 2020, joining Nick Guinumtad who has lived in Mackay for several years, but the move was delayed by the pandemic. He began attending Mackay state high school this month.
It is the second fatality from a box jellyfish sting in Queensland in 16 years, after a 17-year-old boy died after a sting at Patterson Point, near Bamaga in February last year.
Box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) are the most venomous marine animal in the world. Their tentacles are up to three metres long covered in poison-filled darts, called nematocysts, which cause severe pain and leave whip-like marks behind. Tentacles often remain stuck to the victim and can be removed with vinegar. The stings can cause paralysis, cardiac arrest and death within minutes of being stung.
They are found in warm waters across the north of Australia, from Coral Bay in Western Australia to Bundaberg in Queensland, from October to May. During stinger season, swimmers are advised to remain at patrolled beaches and not to enter the water if the beach has been closed. Swimmers are also advised to wear full-body Lycra suits, which can protect against stings.
