Box jelly fish is seen in this photo shared by the Municipality of Santa Fe in Bantayan Island, Cebu.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 32-year-old woman from Bohol died after she was stung by a box jellyfish while swimming in a public beach in Santa Fe town, Bantayan Island, Cebu on Sunday, June 25, 2023.
The victim was identified as Leslie Ann Madronero, a native of Valencia, Bohol.
According to a report from Santa Fe Municipal Police Station, Madronero was with her friends and co-workers Marlon Magno, Ma. Cecilia Bazar, and Menard Paras at the time of the incident.
At 1:45 p.m. of the same day, the four of them arrived at a public beach at Barangay Pooc in Santa Fe to swim, where lots of people were also swimming in the area.
Box jellyfish encounter
Based on the report, the victim and Paras dove from the cliff to the sea while Magno and Bazar were directly swimming on the sea.
Ten minutes into their swim, Madronero suddenly felt an itch on her left arm.
After more or less five minutes, Madronero told Magno that she was having difficulty breathing.
He helped Madronero by lifting her from the water when suddenly Madronero’s left arm turned reddish, which was believed to be jellyfish sting.
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At around 2:30 p.m. the municipal ambulance of Santa Fe arrived and brought the victim to the Bantayan District Hospital.
However, she was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician at 2:50 p.m. and her cause of death is Cardiogenic Shock secondary in Myocardial Infarction.
The body of the victim will be transported to Valencia, Bohol.
The victim, together with Magno, Bazar, and Paras, arrived in Santa Fe on Saturday, June 24, 2023.
Jellyfish season
Following the death of Madronero, the local government of Santa Fe released an official statement on Monday, June 26.
Santa Fe Mayor Ithamar Espinosa, in the statement, also reminded tourists of the dangers of a box jellyfish sting.
“Box jellyfish encounters can be dangerous. We reiterate our reminder to everyone to remain vigilant and follow safety guidelines when engaging in water activities and swimming,” the statement reads.
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The Municipality of Santa Fe already warned visitors via a Facebook post last June 9 on the presence of jellyfish in its sea waters.
“We would like to inform all our visitors to exercise caution while swimming in the sea due to a significant number of jellyfish present in the waters. This period is commonly referred to as ‘jellyfish season.’ During this time, the likelihood of encountering jellyfish in coastal areas is higher,” part of the post reads.
/bmjo
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