Nai Yang Beach lifeguard Mr Nattapon Islam told The Phuket News, “Today we collected 16 jellyfish from the beach 14 of which were Portuguese man o’ war. We also found another two species of jellyfish but we are not yet sure what species they are. The bodies of these jellyfish are round, the main colour is dark but they a blue rim. They look similar to a Portuguese man o’ war but cannot confirm that they are.
“The Portuguese man o’ war we found were not so big, about 5-10 centimetres, but some had very long tentacles which were up to 1 metre long.
“Portuguese man o’ war are quite dangerous for swimmers, so if you see them floating in the sea stay away from them or get out the water to be safe,” he said.
“From Sept 25-28, officials from Sirinath National park and Phuket Lifeguard Service scoured five beaches in Thalang district and collected a total of 457 blue bottles. We have been on watch everyday for them on the beach.
“Even though the number we caught was not high the presence of them post a danger to swimmers, especially tourists who may not be aware they can be found on our beaches.
“I have reported to my superior and he will pass on information to other lifeguards and local officials so they can advise tourist in their area to be aware,” he added.
Meanwhile, lifeguards have put up red flags along Bang Tao Beach after parts of the beach have suffered further erosion leaving several pine trees uprooted. Some areas of the beach are still open to the public but lifeguards advise beach goers to stay away from the red flagged areas.