Young French boy in Phuket jellyfish attack

NAI HARN, PHUKET: A four-year-old French boy is expected to make a full recovery from a jellyfish sting on Nai Harn Beach this afternoon thanks to the quick thinking of two former Phuket lifeguards.

The two men, who now work as beach vendors, rushed to help Aymeric Roussel after he was pulled from the surf screaming.

“We poured vinegar over the boy’s wounds and a mixture of plant juices to help with the wounds before the ambulance arrived,” said one of the men, 31-year-old Song Sa-ingthon.

Doctors at Phuket International Hospital say the large burns on Aymeric’s stomach and right arm should completely heal over time.

Young Aymeric arrived in Phuket with his parents on March 10 and had been staying at the Thalassa Village Resort close to the beach.

The boy’s mother Cécile Roussel, 42, was with her son on the beach when the incident happened at about 1pm. His father was on a scuba diving day trip at the time.

As the pair played in the water, little Aymeric swam a few feet away from his mother. Within seconds he began screaming.

“I never heard him scream like that before,” Mrs Roussel said.

As soon as she pulled her son out of the water Mrs Roussel saw red marks on his stomach and right arm.

Seeing the commotion, the two former lifeguards rushed to help, applying the salve which may well have saved Aymeric from more serious injuries.

At the time of writing Phuket Marine Biological Center representatives were on their way to visit young Aymeric and his mother in hospital to identify the burn pattern of the sting to ascertain what kind of jellyfish was responsible.

Former lifeguard Mr Sa-ingthon said he sees at least three jellyfish incidents each year on Nai Harn Beach.

He advised swimmers that vinegar is the best tool for reducing the toxicity levels immediately after a sting.

He also said ‘beach morning glory’, a tropical vine found around most Phuket beaches, can also help to treat sting wounds.

— Atchaa Khamlo