English backpacker ‘robbed of his future’ after fatal sea snake bite in Northern Territory

A young British man has died after he was bitten on the finger by a sea snake in the Northern Territory.

A young British man has died after he was bitten on the finger by a sea snake in the Northern Territory.

Harry Evans, 23, from Dorset in southwest England, was working for a prawn trawler off the coast of Bing Bong on the Gulf of Carpentaria in October last year.

He was folding nets when a black-banded sea krait bit him on the finger after getting tangled inside. He was not wearing gloves.

He died hours later before CareFlight arrived.

A coronial inquest heard Evans was instructed by skipper Nicholas Huard to shower before first aid was administered around 10 minutes later.

Huard told the inquest that, upon reflection, he should have applied first aid immediately, the ABC reported.

In a statement tended to the coronial inquest in Darwin, Evans’ mother Sharon said there were “no words to describe” his death.

“We know that if anything could be possibly put in place to prevent or avoid anyone suffering as Harry’s family or friends are, he would support that wholeheartedly,” she said.

Black-banded sea kraits are highly venomous snakes, but Evans is only the second person in Australian history to die from a sea snake bite.

His mother said that prior to his death he had been “living his dream” working aboard the prawn trawler.

The inquest continues.