An American father and his teenage son died after being attacked and stung over 100 times by dangerous hornets while on vacation in Laos on October 15, reported The Straits Times.
The victims, 47-year-old Daniel Owen and his 15-year-old son Cooper, were riding a zip line at Green Jungle Park, an eco-adventure center near the Mekong River, when they were attacked by a swarm of giant Asian hornets, also known as “murder hornets”.
Owen, who was the director of an international school in Vietnam, and his son struggled to descend from the trees after the attack.
Both were initially taken to a nearby clinic before being transferred to a hospital, but they were pronounced dead a few hours later.
The status of the tour guide who accompanied them during the incident remains unknown.
Giant Asian hornets can grow up to 6.35 centimeters, and their stings are potent enough to cause tissue death and organ failure.
Local medical expert Dr. Phanomsay Phakan said he had never seen a case this severe in over 20 years of practice. He noted that the victims arrived at the clinic alive and did not exhibit signs of anaphylactic shock.
While fatal hornet stings are rare, the risk increases with multiple stings. A spokesperson from the British Beekeepers Association explained that the severity depends on the individual’s reaction and can be deadly if a hornet nest is disturbed.
Following the tragedy, Green Jungle Park stated that it is reviewing all safety procedures to prevent similar incidents.
