American father and son die after being stung more than 100 times by swarm of wasps while ziplining in Laos

An American man and his teenage son died last month after they were attacked by wasps while ziplining at an adventure camp in Laos and stung dozens of times, a hospital official said Thursday.

Dan Owen, principal of an international school in neighboring Vietnam, and his son Cooper were attacked by insects on Oct. 15 at Green Jungle Park while descending from a tree at the end of the zip line.

The camp is located on the outskirts of the city of Luang Prabang, a popular tourist site in the Southeast Asian nation that was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

The two were taken to a local clinic and then transported to Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital, where they arrived in critical condition, said Jorvue Yianouchongteng, the emergency doctor who received them.

“The son was unconscious and died half an hour later, while the father was conscious and died about three hours later,” he told The News. “We did everything we could to save them but we couldn’t.”

The doctor said both had suffered severe anaphylactic shock after being stung more than 100 times on the body, but the exact cause of death had not been determined.

Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at the clinic where the two were first treated, told News themezone that the two patients stayed there for a short time because they had limited medical facilities.

“The condition of the father and son was very serious, so they were rushed to a nearby provincial hospital for further treatment,” Phakan told News themezone. “I don’t know what happened after that.”

Phakan previously told the UK Times that their bodies were covered in red spots.

“It was very, very painful,” Phakan told the Times. “Many bites, more than 100, all over the body. I already thought it was a very dangerous situation because I had never seen something so serious.”

The Asian giant hornet, known as the “murder hornet” because of its aggressive behavior towards other insects such as bees, is found in Laos, as are other wasp species. It was unclear which guy had stung the two. Last December, agriculture officials confirmed that the Asian giant hornet had been eradicated in the USA the invasive species It was confirmed to be in the U.S. in 2019 after Washington state officials received and verified two reports of the hornet, and quickly began efforts to track and dispose of them.

The US State Department said it could confirm the deaths of two US citizens in Luang Prabang but would not comment further “out of respect for the privacy of family and loved ones”.

Green Jungle Park did not respond to an inquiry from News themezone. Laos’ Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.

In a Facebook post, Owen’s employer, Quality Schools International, praised him for “touching countless lives” during his 18 years at the chain, which operates 35 schools around the world. He said he had worked at five of its schools and was principal of QSI Haiphong International School in Vietnam at the time of his death.

“He was deeply loved throughout our community and will be deeply missed,” the school said. “Our deepest condolences go out to the Owen family and everyone who knew and loved them.”