17-year-old dies after being stung by a hand of death, the most venomous jellyfish known to date.

Steph Deschamps / Mars 4, 2021

An Australian teenager died after being stung by a very venomous jellyfish, announced Thursday the authorities for which it would be the first death of this type in 15 years.

Health authorities revealed that the 17-year-old man was stung on February 22 while swimming off the coast of the small town of Bamaga, located in the far north of the state of Queensland. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital where he died on March 1, according to police.

The Australian cubomedusa or Chironex fleckeri is the most venomous jellyfish known to date, which also earned it the nickname sea wasp or hand of death. It lives mainly in the tropical waters in the north of the huge island continent, where swimmers are advised to wear a full body swimsuit or avoid swimming during the austral summer.

According to marine biologist Lisa-Ann Gershwin, this is the first cubomeduse-related death in Australia recorded since 2006. Unfortunately, the (previous) death also occurred in Bamaga, she told ABC television.

According to Gershwin, such a fatal outcome is preventable, but people living far from a city are particularly vulnerable.