| Australia. Steve Irwin probably second stingray death this year |
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| Monday, 04 September 2006 | |
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Environmental news: Michele Arnulfo, a 14 year old boy from Genoa, Italy died in Porto Cervo waters in June. The teenager had been using the tender to the family yacht with two friends when he decided to go for a dip and jumped into the water. Some minutes later, he surfaced with a cut in the stomach that was bleeding profusely. Some English tourists gave first aid and took him to the hotel Cala di Volpe, where paramedics used a defibrillator in an unsuccessful attempt to save his life. At first, police believed the boy had been stabbed with a stiletto type of knife, since the wound to his stomach was about 1 cm across and 12 cms deep, but a through search of the waters by divers revealed no such weapon. Reports that a very large stingray had been seen in the area led them to conclude that the wound was, probably, inflicted by the creature’s tail barb, which penetrated the iliac artery, and that the boy, probably, died of loss of blood and shock induced by the fish’s venom. The autopsy revealed a wound caused by a cylindrical object that ended in a point and a forensic surgeon said it was consistent with an injury caused by a stingray. Stingrays do not, normally, attack people, but will do so if provoked, or surprised; for example, if trodden on. A stingray can thrash its tail from side to side, as well as up and down and, because the stinging spine has jagged edges, the wounds can be ragged and deep and tend to bleed profusely. The sting causes intense pain, as well as shock and breathing difficulties. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 04 September 2006 ) |
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