Grieving parents have warned others to be cautious in the ocean after their two-year-old son died from a box jellyfish sting while on holiday in Malaysia. Vladimir ‘Vova’ Yakubanets was paddling with his parents in shallow water on Chengang Beach a day after arriving in Langkawi from their home in Khabarovsk, Russia, when the fatal attack occured. The two-year-old cried out and was rushed to hospital where he died four days later with severe lesions on his skin from the sting.

“When it happened, he was in shallow water near the shore,” the boy’s father Nikita Yakubanets, 32, recounted. “My wife took him out of the water and handed him to me before going to get a cloth to clean his leg. At that moment, my son stopped breathing. I tried giving CPR. Other tourists came to help. They took us to the first responders, but they only cleaned the wound with vinegar before sending us to a clinic, and from there, straight to the hospital.”

A spokesperson for Langkwai civil defence said: “The child was brought to hospital by family members in a near-lifeless state. He was successfully resuscitated after two hours. The hospital also had to obtain antivenom from Penang.”

The antivenom had to travel 90 miles from Pengang and the two-year-old ultimately succumbed to complications from the sting at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah on the Malaysian mainland.

Nikita and his wife Olga, 32, said they weren’t planning to take legal action for negligence, and instead wanted their son’s death to act as a warning to others of the risks posed by jellyfish and similar marine species.

“We believe this was the purpose of his life – to save others, to prevent further tragedies,” Nikita said. “Vladimir was very kind, very smart. We were a happy family.”

Olga added: “Our son is a hero. He is our little angel. Every day we told him we loved him, and he always said he loved us too.”

Medical staff reportedly told the couple that their son’s heart had stopped after the jellyfish sting, and that he sustained “very big” injuries on his legs. They said they were planning to cremate Vladimir and take his ashes back to Russia.

Local officials also reiterated the dangers of box jellyfish following the tragedy, with studies underway to monitor the species’ activity on Langkawi island, where sightings are generally rare.

The civil defence force said: “All lifeguard posts have been alerted and instructed to warn visitors along the beaches.”

Stings from box jellyfish cause potent toxins to severely affect the heart, nervous system and skin cells, resulting in excruciating pain and causing death within minutes if not properly treated. The initial recommended treatment is to rinse the stung area with acetic acid – vinegar – to neutralise toxins and remove tentacles.