German tourist died after box jelly fish encounter on Lamai beach
Unfortunately we have some very sad news; A 20 year old, female German tourist died after box jelly fish encounter on
Lamai beach after a night swim last night. Check here for
the Thai PBS article, which I copy below this picture.
Since 1999, after a similar sad event on
Chaweng beach, this is the second reported death by a box jelly fish on Koh Samui.
In August
a Thai woman died on Koh Phangan after a box jelly fish encounter and last month a Chinese tourist barely survived an encounter on Chaweng Beach, he was in a coma for a day. His wife had minor stings.
For more updates on my work about box jelly fish around Koh Samui, please check
this link and
this one.
There's no reason for panic, however it's best to refrain from swimming on Lamai beach today and having a bottle of vinegar at hand is also a smart move and wear stinger suits or other forms of body protection.
The scars indicate a new species of 'Thai box jelly fish' that caused this injury
From the ThaiPBS article;
20-year-old German tourist died and her friend was injured after she was stung by box jellyfish while swimming at night at Lamai beach in Samui Island last night.
Bophud station police investigator Pol Maj Udomsak Thappa said the police were alerted of the death of Ms X by Bangkok Samui hospital around midnight.
She suffered wounds on both legs, stomach, back and arms, the officer said.
Her friend identified as X, also a German tourist, received slight injury as she swam to rescue her friend after hearing she screamed while swimming in the sea in front of Lamai beach.
She is still at hospital for monitoring of the wound.
Investigation later revealed that both tourists checked in at a bungalow on Lamai beach.
Shortly later Bungalow employees heard loud scream from the beach, they rushed to the source of the sound and saw both tourists in the sea.
They cried in pains with wounds believed to be stung by box jellyfishes on their bodies.
They were given primary care by rescue workers of Samui municipal rescue centre with vinegar to relieve their pains, and later rushed to Bangkok Samui hospital.
But Ms Thies Saskia died later from the deadly poisons.
The body of the dead tourist will be flown to Police General Hospital in Bangkok this morning for autopsy.
Jet Ski club president Withaya Suksom, said he was alerted of a large number of box jellyfishes in the sea of Lamai beach by residents and club members yesterday.
He immediately coordinated with the marine police and also asked jet skiers to go out warning tourists swimming in the water to stay off the sea.
Besides he also sought cooperation from all bungalow and hotel operators to put up warning signs on the beach and advise tourists not to swim in the sea during this period.
He said he never expected the incident would happen at night.
The box jellyfish is one of the world’s most toxic animals and its stings usually cause victims to die quickly and in agony.
A Thai woman died on Koh Phangan from box jellyfish stings in August this year.
Experts say that the only treatment for box jellyfish is common vinegar. The vinegar does nothing to dull the pain but it does combat the toxicity. Without vinegar, the jellyfish stings continue to attack and destroy the victim’s flesh.
Once more, please just keep in mind that I do report about this accident, not to scare monger but to raise awareness.
The recommend way to deal with box jelly fish stings is to use plenty of vinegar on the affected body parts;
IN CASE OF A BOX JELLYFISH STING:
1. Begin CPR if required and call for medical assistance
2. Immediately pour vinegar over sting area for at least 30 seconds
3. After using the vinegar, place cold packs or ice on the wound to ease the pain and reduce skin damage
4. Seek medical attention
A whole range of stinger suits for children,
follow this link
The THA (Thai Hotel Association), chapter Koh Samui is taking this problem very seriously and plans were already in place to get experts to Koh Samui and discuss ways of preventing such accidents and raise awareness.
This is already documented in other activities the THA chapter Koh Samui took last year.
Please stay calm and enjoy your holiday on Koh Samui, being aware and knowing what to do in case somebody gets stung, will be very helpful and reduce the chance of fatalities like this unfortunate German girl.
Camille
