Box jellyfish sting kills woman on Thai resort island

A Thai tourist has died after being stung by a box jellyfish while swimming off Koh Pha-ngan in Surat Thani last Friday night.

Following the 9:30 p.m. report of the incident, Koh Pha-ngan police went to Koh Pha-ngan Hospital and learned that the 31-year-old woman was dead.

Police learned that the woman had travelled to the island from Bangkok with friends and went swimming at around 8 p.m. in Tambon Ban Tai and was stung.

One of the world’s most poisonous creatures, this cube-shaped jellyfish’s sting can cause extreme pain, muscle numbness, stomach and back muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting, chest tightness and death.

Koh Pha-ngan Hospital’s Dr. Thanuwat Tippinit warned that this type of jellyfish was more prevalent during rains.

Thanuwat said the proper way to treat a sting with first aid involved pouring vinegar onto the wound.

Last August, a five-year-old French boy died from a box jellyfish sting on Koh Pha-ngan.

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