Adam Young and Brendan Dawson were flying from Bogotá, Colombia, to Mexico City on Friday as part of their travels around South America. Deciding to take a short nap, Young wrote in a Facebook post Saturday that he was “just about asleep” when he felt what he thought to be an insect crawl under his shirt.
When he lifted his shirt, he realised his mistake. The scorpion had stung him three times before he could eventually dislodge it, jumping from his chair so that the creature fell onto the floor of the aircraft.
Dawson, noticing the commotion, initially thought that Young was joking around. Then he saw the scorpion move across the floor and underneath another seat.
The pair notified flight attendants who found and killed the scorpion. The flight immediately turned round, heading back towards Bogotá, as the effects of the venom began to show on Young.
Another passenger on the plane who claimed to be familiar with scorpion species told him that he had been stung by a very venomous example which could potentially kill a human if enough of the poison entered the body.
Young began to feel incredibly nauseous and his limbs and veins were filled with “excruciating” pain. As the ordeal continued, he developed chest pains and vivid hallucinations before being met on the runway 20 minutes later by an ambulance.
He was given a prompt medical examination and received an antidote for the venom. The pain began to subside and Young continued to Mexico. He later wrote in his Facebook post: “It’s crazy [be]cause I spent 3 days in the amazon jungle with nothing more than a few mosquito bites, then jump on a plane and get attacked by a friggin’ scorpion.”
The aircraft was examined by the flight crew to ensure that no other scorpions were left aboard. The plane was confirmed clear after two hours of searching.
