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http://www.boston.com/news/local/ne.../jellyfish_stings_as_many_as_150_at_nh_beach/
A large dead jellyfish wreaked havoc on a New Hampshire beach yesterday, stinging as many as 150 people, most of them children, and sending five to the hospital, fire officials said.
Panic ensued at Wallis Sands State Park in Rye, where emergency officials were called at about 1:30 p.m. and told that anywhere from 125 to 150 people had been stung, Lieutenant Charles Gallant of the Rye Fire Department said.
The jellyfish had broken apart earlier in the day when park officials tried to remove its carcass, and the floating pieces stung those in the water, Gallant said.
A jellyfish can retain its stringing ability for a short time after it has died, said Steve Spina, an assistant curator and jellyfish specialist at the New England Aquarium in Boston.
“They do have an awful lot of tentacles,’’ Spina said. “It can be fairly painful, especially if you’re sensitive the way people are sensitive to other stings.’’
The jellyfish was roughly the size of “a cover of a trash can,’’ Gallant said.
Lifeguards treated the majority of the children with vinegar and baking soda. Five children were transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital as a precaution over allergy concerns, he said. They were later released. Several summer youth groups had traveled to the beach on a day trip, he said.
When authorities arrived, the beach and its pavilion were crowded with children, many crying “like they had been stung by a bee,’’ Gallant said.
Neither he nor his crew could remember the last time they had experienced a jellyfish sting in the area, let alone so many, Gallant said.
“At least for us, they’re not very common,’’ he said.
With some reports of unraveled tentacles stretching up to 100 feet, Spina said, “I can imagine how a lot of people can get stung, with tentacles that long.’’
A large dead jellyfish wreaked havoc on a New Hampshire beach yesterday, stinging as many as 150 people, most of them children, and sending five to the hospital, fire officials said.
Panic ensued at Wallis Sands State Park in Rye, where emergency officials were called at about 1:30 p.m. and told that anywhere from 125 to 150 people had been stung, Lieutenant Charles Gallant of the Rye Fire Department said.
The jellyfish had broken apart earlier in the day when park officials tried to remove its carcass, and the floating pieces stung those in the water, Gallant said.
A jellyfish can retain its stringing ability for a short time after it has died, said Steve Spina, an assistant curator and jellyfish specialist at the New England Aquarium in Boston.
“They do have an awful lot of tentacles,’’ Spina said. “It can be fairly painful, especially if you’re sensitive the way people are sensitive to other stings.’’
The jellyfish was roughly the size of “a cover of a trash can,’’ Gallant said.
Lifeguards treated the majority of the children with vinegar and baking soda. Five children were transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital as a precaution over allergy concerns, he said. They were later released. Several summer youth groups had traveled to the beach on a day trip, he said.
When authorities arrived, the beach and its pavilion were crowded with children, many crying “like they had been stung by a bee,’’ Gallant said.
Neither he nor his crew could remember the last time they had experienced a jellyfish sting in the area, let alone so many, Gallant said.
“At least for us, they’re not very common,’’ he said.
With some reports of unraveled tentacles stretching up to 100 feet, Spina said, “I can imagine how a lot of people can get stung, with tentacles that long.’’
