Thailand bans swimming in Phuket after poisonous creature found

Tourists have been banned from swimming at three beaches in Phuket province, Thailand, after a strange, venomous jellyfish-like creature was discovered there.

Kittiphat Tharapiban, head of Sirinath National Park, said park officials spotted the “Portuguese man-of-war” – a jellyfish-like animal – along three beaches of Naiyang, Naithon and Layan on September 23, according toBangkok Post.

The “Portuguese man-of-war” is a species that looks like a jellyfish, but is a siphonophore. It is a colony of many small individuals living together in symbiosis, filled with gas and lying on the surface of the water, so the species looks like a boat with a sail full of wind. Photo: Bangkokpost.

This creature is considered the most venomous in the world. Touching it or being bitten by it will cause extreme pain. Its poison can cause shock and heart failure.

Sirinath National Park authorities have decided to ban swimming and all water activities at these beaches, realizing that the presence of this animal could be dangerous for beachgoers.

Previously, on September 20, a 37-year-old female tourist from England, Sam Webster, was attacked by this creature while on vacation in Phuket, leaving her with third-degree burns and scars on her legs. She described the feeling of being attacked as “like having hundreds of razor blades cutting through her legs”.

According to VNE