An irukandji jellyfish. Photo: Supplied
Two teenagers have been airlifted to hospital in two days after suspected stings from the potentially deadly irukandji jellyfish.
A 15-year-old boy was stung off Hook Island in the Whitsundays on Wednesday morning while snorkelling with his family.
The family took the boy to nearby Hayman Island, making things easier for pilots who were able to land instead of winching the boy.
It was the first jellyfish sting of the season for the RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter team, which took the boy to Mackay Base Hospital.
“By getting the patient to Hayman Island it made locating and pick-up a lot easier,” rescue crewman Justin Craib said.
“Once treated and stabilised, the patient was airlifted to Mackay Base Hospital for further observation and treatment.”
On Tuesday the RACQ Capricorn Rescue helicopter airlifted a 13-year-old Yeppoon girl to Rockhampton after she suffered a suspected sting off Great Keppel Island.
The stings come after an irukandji morbakka fenneri sting almost killed a six-year-old boy off Wellington Point on New Year’s Eve. It was one of the most venomous jellyfish ever found in Moreton Bay.