TWO popular beaches have been forced to close after a deadly sea creature was spotted lurking off the Spanish coast.
Tourists have been banned from visiting Tamarit Beach and Altafulla Beach on the country’s east coast after authorities spotted a Portuguese man o’war.
Safety measures have been deployed to protect bathers and sun-seekers from the creature’s sting, which has proven to be deadly in rare cases.
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.
Although they are rarely deadly they can be dangerous to children, elderly people, asthmatics and people with allergies as they can cause fever, shock and respiratory distress.
Experts advise closing an entire beach if the creature is found lurking anywhere near the coastal waters.
Last week, a Portuguese man o’war was spotted off the coast of the popular holiday resort of San Antonio in Ibiza.
Josep Maria Gili, a marine biologist from Barcelona, said: “There are no recorded deaths from their stings in Spain but there have been fatal cases in Sicily and Sardinia where people have died.
“Beaches have to be closed if a single Portuguese man o’war is spotted.”
The dangerous false jellyfish have become more common off the Spanish coast in recent years.
The pain from a Portuguese man o’war sting typically lasts 15 to 20 minutes and it should be treated differently to a jellyfish sting.
People stung are advised to rinse the area with vinegar or hot water with a hot pack for 45 minutes to remove the tentacles.
Experts have urged to never use urine to relieve the sting as it can make it worse and cause a severe infection.
Instead, the wound should be treated with anaesthetic gels or pain relief creams.
In 2019, three beaches were closed temporarily in Benidorm after seven people were stung by them.
Naomi Mateos, 22, was left with excruciating marks all over her body after being stung by one of the creatures in the same month.
She was swimming at Punta de Calnegre beach in the southeast province of Murcia.
After spending two days in a hospital she said: “I felt as if fire or acid was being injected into my body.”
In May 2018, beachgoers were banned from much of the Costa Blanca shore after an invasion of man o’ war in the Med forced the closure of miles of coastline.
An 11-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being stung by one of the jellyfish-like creatures on one of the few beaches that remained open at the time.
THE man o’war is not a true jellyfish but a colony made up of small individual animals called polyps that are unable to survive alone.
Portuguese man o’ war – also known as the floating terror – has an extremely powerful sting that on rare occasions can kill.
The sea creatures (Physalia physalis) are not true jellyfish but siphonophores.
These are colonies of hydrozoans – lots of tiny marine organisms living together and behaving collectively as one animal.
They get their name from the balloon-like “sail” that floats above the water, which was said to resemble a type of 18th-century warship.
Unable to move independently, the creature floats on the surface and is propelled by a balloon-like ‘sail.’
Its tentacles can be more than 30 metres long and they deliver a painful sting causing whip-like red welts on human skin.
Stings are not usually fatal but can provoke an allergic-type reaction in some cases, while urgent medical attention might be needed if a person comes into contact with many tentacles.
Instances where a tentacle becomes wrapped around the victim’s torso are said to cause the most deaths, especially in children.
The polyps can detach from the body of the man o’war and float for several days while remaining venomous.
Brushing against one can lead to an agonising and potentially lethal sting.
A stranded Portuguese man o’ war looks a bit like a deflating purple balloon about the size of a Cornish pasty with blue ribbons attached.
They drift on the ocean currents and every year they wash up in their thousands on beaches from Britain to Australia.
