Class Story of September 19
The Big Sting
Today, over 100 people were stung by a giant dead jellyfish
at the Wallace Stands State Beach in Rye , NH. Emergency crews from the area
closed the beach and treated the victims, who were complaining of a bee-sting
like feeling, in the bathhouse.
Despite the fact that five children were taken to the
hospital for fear of allergic reactions, officials report no serious
injury. Lifeguards spotted the massive,
50-pound jellyfish in the water short after people started complaining of
getting stung.
Robert Royers, an aquarist at the Seacoast Science Centre,
identified the jellyfish as being a Lions’ Mane. This jellyfish, he says, is
common to the area. They have 100 feet long barbed tentacles, which can even
sting when the jellyfish is killed. The Lions’ Mane is the largest jellyfish in
New England waters, but Royers has no recollection of any of them reaching 50
pounds in weight.
Ken Loughlin, the manager for 30 years of the Park where the
incident happened, reports to have “never seen such a thing before. It was as
big as a turkey platter.”
The jellyfish, which was already dead, also turned Alysia
Bennett’s afternoon at the beach into a nightmare. Her children, whom she took
to the beach for a swim, suddenly came running out of the water, “crying and
terrified”.
At 2 p.m., shortly after the jellyfish was spotted,
emergency crews from the towns of Stratham, Portsmouth, Greenland, New Hampton,
Newington and Rye were summoned to aid the victims. The fact that the dead
jellyfish was pulled out of the water by local lifeguards, did not diminish the
amount of victims. With a water temperature of 63 F and an air temperature of
72 F, the beach was crowded, which contributed to the large amount of victims.
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten