Ganpati Visarjan horror: Stingrays attack devotees at Girgaum Chowpatty

Amid the din and clamour of Ganpati immersions at Girgaum Chowpatty last evening devotees who were swimming in the waters to send off the lord were blinded by shooting pains in their feet and legs Over the evening 57 devotees were wheeled into different city hospitals writhing in agony They learnt much later that they were unwitting victims of a stingray attack It was around 630 pm when I entered the water for the immersion All of a sudden I felt these thin tentaclelike things sting my ankle The pain was so intense that I almost fainted Rajeev Sangle 30 PicAtul Kamble ldquoI was holding our small Ganpati idol A few minutes after stepping into ankledeep water I felt something bite my left foot I didnrsquot even get to see what it was as the pain was so agonisingrdquo moaned Rahul Naik 18 He was one of the 38 people admitted to the civicrun Nair hospital around 8 pm ldquoAt first I thought a crab had bit my leg It felt like a jolt of electricity ran up my leg after I was bit but I didnrsquot get to see itrdquo he added Many of the devotees who had gathered at Girgaum Chowpatty stepped into the waters to give their idols a sendoff Some of them became victims of stingrays They received first aid treatment at the spot before being taken to hospital PicsAtul Kamble A doctor from the hospital said that the nature of injuries seen on the patients indicated that a nonpoisonous stingray had stung all the 38 patients ldquoWe administered pain killers to all the patients and controlled the bleeding They are all stable now as the stingrays were not poisonous and have been kept under observationrdquo said Dr M Shah deputy dean of Nair hospital While one victim was admitted to the staterun JJ hospital 11 others were undergoing treatment in GT Hospital Seven children were admitted in Cama hospital Rajeev Sangle 30 said ldquoIt was around 630 pm when I was kneedeep in water for immersion All of a sudden I felt this thin tentaclelike thing pierce my ankle The pain was so intense that I almost fainted I started bleeding profusely I didnrsquot get to see what had attacked us even though there was still daylight While Rahul was stung almost an hour after the first attack he claimed that no one had informed him about the same and warned him to stay away from the water ldquoI take part in the idol immersions every year and this is the first time we have experienced something this unpleasantu00a0 I had no idea that some sea creatures were attacking peoplerdquo he said Babloo Chavan 34 said that though people were being given first aid for stingray bites from 630 pm those who arrived later were not warned ldquoI have never heard of this before but was unfortunate enough to experience such pain which was followed by bleeding around my right footrdquo Officials speak Deepak Apte chief operating officer at BNHS and a marine ecologist said ldquoThe individual who has suffered a wound from the stingray should be first taken to the hospital Usually it is not fatal but the wound can cause a lot of pain and so the injured person should pour hot water of 33 Celsius on the wound for an hour which will cause the pain to decrease If the injured person has any skin allergy he or she should take more carerdquo ldquoWe have deployed five ambulances at Girgaum Chowpatty and restricted devotees from entering the water or even walk on the shore About 45 people have been shifted to Nair hospital and our medical team is also present near Chowpatty for first aidrdquo said PR Masurkar assistant municipal commissioner D ward When stingrays attack gtgt Stingrays are considered by most experts to be docile creatures only attacking in selfdefence gtgt Most stingrayrelated injuries to humans occur to the ankles and lower legs when someone accidentally steps on a ray buried in the sand and the frightened fish flips up its dangerous tail gtgt Stingrayrelated fatalities in humans are extremely rare partly because a stingrayrsquos venom while extraordinarily painful isnrsquot usually deadly unless the initial strike is to the chest or abdominal area gtgt When threatened the stingray begins its tail whip the barbs on the spines tear through the thin tissue of the integumentary sheath and the spines jut out at an angle thatrsquos nearly perpendicular to the tail gtgt Once the stingray is in motion its tail becomes a whiplike weapon with a poisonous nail sticking out of it gtgt The venom contained in the mucuslike coating over the barb is introduced into the body through the wound Stingrayrsquos famous victim lsquoCrocodile Hunterrsquo Steve Irwin In September 2006 television personality and environmentalist Steve Irwin died from a stingray wound while filming off north Queensland Australia The 44yearoldrsquos heart was pierced by the serrated poisonous spine of a stingray as he swam with the creature while shooting a new TV show on the Great Barrier Reef Voices This has been a horrifying experience for me as I always come here for immersions and nothing of this sort was ever noticed While I was emerging from the water something bit me Within minutes my leg went numb and started bleeding Prashant Padam victim I was very excited having come to Mumbai from Rajasthan specially for this festival and this happened to me It is paining a lot and I cannot explain the way it bit me I was about to faint First aid treatment at the right time saved me but I wonrsquot be allowed to go home now like I want to Ramsingh Rajput a native of Rajasthan who had come here for the festival This started around 7 in the evening when everyone was busy immersing their idols Earlier we didnrsquot think it was a big problem Soon six people fainted When about 1020 people had been affected the disaster control team started announcing on their public announcement system not to go deep into the water According to the doctors I have spoken to it is not sure how poisonous these fish are as not much research has been done in India on them Pradeep Patade a volunteer present at the spot We are trying to control the situation by stopping people from going into the water and also asking them to take precautions like wearing gum boots But people prefer not to wear boots when they go to immerse idols Hence we are stopping them and warning them about the situation so they have the choice of choosing a different spot A BMC official present on immersion duty