Stingrays Attack Record Number Of People In A Single Day At California Beach

A record number of people were stung by stingrays at California's Huntington Beach on Saturday, forcing authorities to issue warnings to people at the beach throughout the weekend.

According to authorities, the stingrays stung 176 people, but it was not because the creatures had gone on a crazy stabbing spree.

A large number of people had visited the beach on Saturday due to the warm weather. As it was low tide, a lot of them ventured deep into the sea where the stingrays resided, resulting in a record number of people being stung by them.

"When you have people in the water with lower tides like that, they make their way out to where the stingrays reside and, unfortunately, people step on the stingrays and that's when they get stung," Lt. Eric Dieterman from fire department's Marine Safety Division told CNN affiliate KTLA.

"It's definitely a searing nerve pain and it's pretty intense," Huntington Beach resident Lee Perkins who was stung previously told KTLA.

Lifeguards at the beach had to remind swimmers to shuffle their feet when they go into the ocean. According to experts, doing so would produce vibrations to scare the stingrays away.

People were also asked to stay away from water till Monday.

“We get out a pretty aggressive public safety campaign... advising folks to stay out of water if possible," Dieterman said.

Bags of warm water were given out by lifeguards for people who were stung by stingrays to soak their injuries and help ease the pain. Such injuries can usually be treated with water, but antibiotics are advised if the injury gets infected. In rare cases stingers may break off in the sting wound, which will require a doctor to pull it out.

As weather conditions changed, lesser people visited the beach on Sunday, resulting in fewer Stingray injuries.

Stingrays are usually found in shallow waters in temperate beaches. Camouflage is their major form of defense as they usually hang out partially covered in sand. However, if they are disturbed or stepped on, they sting.

Wildlife expert and “The Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin died after a stingray barb went through his chest while filming a documentary.