A North Queensland beach community is in shock after a teenage boy died from a box jellyfish sting on Saturday afternoon.
The box jellyfish is one of the world's deadliest animals. Photo: 123RF
The picturesque Eimeo Beach, north of Mackay, is usually a hive of activity and joy, but it was a scene of distress as the 14-year-old staggered from the water.
It is understood the boy had several metres of tentacles wrapped around his legs and arms.
Surf lifesavers and critical care paramedics treated the boy at the scene, but he died in the Mackay Base Hospital a short time later.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.
Lisa-Anne Gershwin has been researching marine stingers for more than 30 years. She said Eimeo Beach was well known for box jellyfish.
Dr Gerswhin said while dragging a beach to check for the presence of stingers was common practice it was not enough.
"What that means is that in that precise column of water at that precise moment in time, that we didn't actually catch any that weren't able to outrun the net," she said.
"We've known for some time that it's not enough … and now a young person and their family has paid a terrible, terrible price."
Stinger nets are used at many beaches in North Queensland, however they can't be deployed in Mackay due to high variations in tides.
Jenny Rees from Surf Lifesaving Queensland said volunteer lifeguards did everything they could.
"They got him out of the water and he had lots of tentacles around his legs, which they pulled off.
"A lot of vinegar was administered and CPR was administered immediately."
She said it was disappointing some people ignored beach closed signs and continued to enter the water.
"They have put three red flags up along the beach and they've been warned to stay out of the water," she said.
Eimeo Beach was due to host a major triathlon event, but it was cancelled following the tragedy.
Peer support is in place for the volunteers who were on patrol.
The world's most venomous animal
Dr Gershwin said the toxin from the box jellyfish was rapidly fatal, with people dying in as little as two minutes after being stung.
She said once barbs deployed the venom it was incredibly painful, and that's when people faced the biggest threat.
"You instinctively jerk away from it and that spooks the animal, so they reel in their tentacles," she said.
"When you start struggling the jellyfish gets caught up in your legs and it starts panicking and accidentally wraps around your legs.
"Millions of barbs carry tiny payloads of very lethal toxin, which goes into the skin and rapidly travels to the heart.
"It actually locks the heart in a contracted state."
Health authorities advise people to treat any box jellyfish sting with vinegar to prevent more venom from being injected into the skin and call triple-0 immediately.
Calls to make protective swimwear compulsory
In tropical areas, it is highly recommended that people wear stinger suits when swimming at the beach.
But Dr Gershwin said people often did not take that advice.
"They see signs that say wear protective swimwear … but they look at other people and they're not wearing it and so it doesn't look like it's that important," she said.
"And I actually worry that we may be giving the public a false sense of security.
"We have the most beautiful beaches in the world and you don't want to stay out of the water, but there's got to be a way to be able to go into the water safely."
Dr Gershwin said there needed to be an urgent discussion about protective swimwear being required to swim at beaches where stinger nets were not used.
"Stinger nets work really, really effectively in keeping the jellyfish away from human skin," she said.
"We've never had a fatal or even near-fatal sting inside a net.
"If people are going to go in the water in areas that don't have nets then you just have to have protective clothing. It's that simple."
- ABC