Portuguese Man O’War jellyfish that closed three Benidorm beaches spotted off Marbella
PORTUGUESE Man O'War jellyfish which forced the closure of three Benidorm beaches last weekend have been spotted off the resort of Marbella.
A photographer on a stand-up paddleboard off the Costa del Sol town came across the jellyfish near to the coastline where a famous beach club went up in flames earlier this year.
He told today how he spotted it just a few feet from where a group of children were playing.
The creature was off Playa El Cable, where beach club Playa Padre burnt down in February.
Texas-born Eva Longoria was wrongly named as one of the owners of Playa Padre when it opened in 2017.
The beach to the east of Marbella Town Centre is also popular with local children who play beach volleyball in the summer.
SEVEN STUNG LAST WEEK
Daniel Blanco, who snapped the Portuguese Man O’War, said: “During a sunset ride on a stand-up paddleboard, we found this beautiful but dangerous ocean inhabitant.
“Luckily I had my small underwater camera from me.”
There were no reports of any beach closures following the sighting.
Marbella Town Hall is not due to start offering information on whether there are jellyfish in the sea until the start of the high season on Monday.
Three beaches were closed temporarily in Benidorm last Sunday after seven people were stung by Portuguese Men O’War.
Two of the jellyfish-like creatures were spotted in the water.
The first was found at Mal Pas beach, a little cove between the town’s main beaches, and the second was found at the popular Levante beach.
The stings suffered by seven people are said to have been “minor”, although five of the seven sunbathers were taken to hospital. It is not known if any were British.
'DANGEROUS TO CHILDREN'
Monica Gomez, Benidorm’s Councillor for Beaches, confirmed afterwards: “Benidorm Town Hall activated a Portuguese Men O’War protocol after two were found off town beaches.
“They were removed by lifeguards.
“As a precautionary measure bathing was banned and the red flag hoisted for an hour at the main Levante and Poniente beaches, and for more than two hours at Mal Pas beach.
“Seven people were treated for minor stings caused by the jellyfish-like creatures at Mal Pas beach.
“Five were taken to Villajoyosa Hospital, as part of protocol and as a precautionary measure.
“We have acted swiftly and diligently and banned bathing until we were sure there were no more Portuguese Men O’War in the water.”
The Portuguese Man O’War is often called a jellyfish but is actually a species of siphonophore, a group of animals that are closely related to jellyfish.
Their tentacles are loaded with coiled, barbed tubes that deliver venom capable of paralysing and killing small fish and crustaceans.
They are rarely deadly to people but can be dangerous to children, elderly people, asthmatics and people with allergies as they can cause fever, shock and respiratory distress.
What to do if you're stung by a Portuguese man o' war
- The Portuguese man o' war has long tentacles which deliver a venomous and sometimes deadly sting.
- The man o' war is not technically a jellyfish but a siphonophore, made up of a colony of tiny individual animals called zooids which work together, functioning as one animal.
- Man o' wars sting through tiny venomous nematocysts which paralyse small fish or other prey.
- Stings from a man o'war result in severe dermatitis and in rare cases can be deadly.
- The NHS says if stung by a jellyfish you should rinse the affected area with sea water and remove spines from the skin with tweezers or a bank card.
- Do not pour on vinegar, pee on the sting, apply ice or a cold pack, touch any spines with your bare hands or cover or close the wound.
- Do soak the area with very warm water, take over the counter painkillers and most importantly, get help straight away.
A woman was left with excruciating marks all over her body earlier this month after being stung by one of the creatures.
Naomi Mateos, 22, was swimming at Puntas de Calnegre beach in Lorca, when she became ‘paralysed’ by a sharp sting.
She said after a two-day stay in hospital: “I felt as if fire or acid was being injected into my body.”
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