Boy, 7, killed by scorpion that crawled into family car
A seven-year-old boy died after being bitten by a scorpion that had crawled into the car he was travelling in.
Arthur Saymon and his family were reportedly on their way home from Mariana, in the central Brazilian region of Minas Gerais, on Tuesday when the insect bit him.
The youngster, from Betim, was flown to hospital by helicopter but during the flight his oxygen saturation dropped and he went into cardiac arrest minutes before landing.
He was resuscitated but died shortly after in hospital.
The incident happened in Belo Horizonte, around 20 miles from Betim.
Arthur Saymon was part of the under-7 team at the Academia de Futebol do Galo in Betim.
The training centre posted paid tribute to the boy on social media.
They said: ‘Go in peace, boy. Your time here at Academia do Galo Betim will always be remembered with great affection!’
On average, 1.2 million people around the world are stung by scorpions, each year and out of those around 3,250 people die.
The majority of those killed are children, who are often stung when playing or asleep.
According to one report, fatalities were regularly caused by a delay in getting treatment.
But experts say most bites and deaths are preventable with proper awareness, safety precautions, and fast access to treatment
Out of about 1,500 scorpion species worldwide, only around 30 are harmful to people.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.