A Queensland family is mourning a “vibrant, compassionate, and loving” 16-year-old who died from a snake bite yesterday.
Beau Horan, 16, was bitten on the foot by a brown snake on Monday afternoon at his family home in Wurdong Heights, just south of Gladstone.
According to a family friend, the teenager was unaware he had been bitten until he came back inside and collapsed.
His family called an ambulance and he was rushed to Gladstone Hospital in a life-threatening condition about 1.50pm.
He was later transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a CareFlight helicopter.
Horan spent Tuesday and yesterday on life support before he passed away.
“Beau was a vibrant, compassionate, loving young man with so much to live for, with a bright future ahead of him,” a statement on behalf of Horan’s family said.
“His passing has left an indescribable emptiness in our hearts and the family.”
His family will return to Wurdong Heights and make arrangements for his funeral.
Horan’s death has hit his community hard.
“It’s a small community. Everyone knows everybody, we’ve all got kids, we all relate,” Shaun Connolly, a friend of Horan’s family said.
Connelly has started an online fundraiser to help with Horan’s medical and funeral expenses as they navigate the “overwhelming” loss.
The eastern brown is the second-most venomous snake in the world and was responsible for 50 deaths between 2001 and 2021.
Fatal snake bites have become relatively rare since the introduction of a national antivenom program, with two people dying per year on average.
In the event of a snake bite, Queensland Health advises people to call triple zero and apply a bandage and splint to the bitten area.
