A 32-year-old woman from Bohol died from a box jellyfish encounter while swimming at a public beach in Santa Fe in Bantayan Island, Cebu over the weekend.
According to a police report, the fatality, identified as Leslie Ann Madronero, a native of Valencia, Bohol, was with her friends and co-workers at the time of the incident.
The four of them arrived at a public beach at Barangay Pooc in Santa Fe to swim at around 1:45 PM on Sunday. The victim and one of her co-workers reportedly dove from the cliff to the sea while the others were directly swimming in the sea.
Ten minutes in and Madronero suddenly felt an itch on her left arm. After more or less five minutes, the witness said she started having difficulty breathing, with her left arm turning reddish.
At around 2:30 PM, 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 PM with her cause of death being Cardiogenic Shock secondary to Myocardial Infarction.
In a statement, Santa Fe, Cebu Mayor Ithamar Espinosa extended their condolences to the bereaved family of the victim.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of the deceased during this difficult time,” Espinosa said.
“Our thoughts are with the affected family. May the departed soul rest in peace, and may we work together to prevent similar incidents in the future,” he added.
Espinosa also advised the public to follow safety guidelines when engaging in water activities.
“The safety of residents and visitors is of utmost importance to us. 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,” he continued.
The Municipality of Santa Fe already warned visitors in 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,” the post reads.
