Ziplining Teacher and Son, 15, Killed by Swarm of Stinging Hornets
Daniel Owen, 47, and his son, Cooper, suffered more than 100 stings.
Quality Schools International / Facebook
An American teacher and his teenage son have been killed in a horrifying hornet attack while ziplining at a resort in Laos.
Daniel Owen, 47, and his 15-year-old son Cooper died after being swarmed by hundreds of Asian giant hornets, while on an eco-adventure near the tourist city of Luang Prabang, The Times reported, citing a source close to U.S. diplomats in Laos.
One source said the hornets descended on the pair and their local guide as they struggled to lower themselves from a tree platform.
Boats on the Mekong River in Luang Prabang.
Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images
“Their whole bodies were covered in red spots. It was very, very painful. A lot of stings, more than 100, over the whole body,” said Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at Phakan Arocavet Clinic, where the victims were first treated. “I thought already that it’s a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it as bad as that.”
The two Americans were conscious and not showing signs of anaphylactic shock when they arrived, Phakan said. They were transferred within an hour to Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital, where both died on Oct. 15 several hours later.
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Fatal hornet attacks are extremely rare in Laos. “I have never seen a death, and I have been working more than 20 years,” Phakan told reporters.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Luang Prabang to NBC News, declining to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones.”
Asian giant hornets—known as the world’s largest—can sting repeatedly and attack aggressively.
MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images
A spokesperson for Green Jungle Park, the resort where the incident occurred, told The Times the attack was “unprecedented in our experience and, to our understanding, in Luang Prabang as well.”
“It was an unforeseeable and extraordinary natural occurrence,” the park said, adding that operations were under review.
Owen, who led QSI International School in Haiphong, Vietnam, was remembered by the school community for his “warmth, leadership, and unwavering commitment to education.”
Asian giant hornets—known as the world’s largest—can sting repeatedly and attack aggressively if their nests are disturbed, experts say.
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