Woman bitten by deadly marine creature at Sydney beach

A woman has been rushed to hospital after suffering a bite from one of the world’s most deadly sea creatures at a popular beach on Sydney’s north shore.

A woman has been rushed to hospital after suffering a bite from an extremely venomous and deadly sea-creature at a popular beach on Sydney’s north shore.

The woman, who is in her thirties, was paddling in the waves at Chinamans Beach in Mosman on Thursday afternoon when she was bitten on the stomach by a blue-ringed octopus.

NSW Ambulance said the woman was swimming on the 35 degree day, when she picked up a shell in the sand that was home to the octopus.

The marine creature crawled out of the shell and onto the woman’s body before biting her on the stomach multiple times.

NSW Ambulance crews were called to McLean Crescent in Mosman at 2:45pm where they began treating the woman before taking her to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition to be monitored and treated further.

A woman was bitten by a blue-ringed octopus at Chinaman's Beach on Thursday afternoon. Picture NSW Ambulance Facebook.

The blue-ringed octopus was captured by paramedics at the scene and removed from the site.

“A blue-ringed octopus bite is a rare call for us, but they are extremely venomous,“ NSW Ambulance Inspector Christian Holmes said.

A woman in her thirties was bitten at a popular Mosman beach by a deadly blue-ringed octopus. Picture: NSW Ambulance.

The octopus was seized by paramedics treating the woman at the scene. NSW Ambulance.

“The patient was experiencing some abdominal pain around the bite site so paramedics applied pressure and a cold compress before taking her to Royal North Shore hospital to be monitored and treated for further symptoms.”

The blue-ringed octopus is one of the world’s most venomous marine creatures.

Blue-ringed octopus bites are reported to be painless but can be fatal as the bite progresses to numbness around the mouth, tongue, face and neck, followed by respiratory failure.

The small creatures, often a yellow and brown colour with bright blue rings are often found in shallow tide, reefs or rock pools and are more often seen around Summer.

The most common species in Sydney is the Blue-lined Octopus, which carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes.

Originally published as Woman bitten by deadly marine creature at Sydney beach