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

An American man and his teenage son died last month after being swarmed 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 October 15 at Green Jungle Park, while descending from a tree at the end of the zip line.

The camp is located outside the town of Luang Prabang, a popular tourist spot in the Southeast Asian country that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

The two men were taken to a local clinic and then transported to Luang Prabang provincial hospital where they arrived in critical condition, said Jorvue Yianouchonongteng, the emergency doctor who treated them.

“The son was unconscious and died after half an hour, while the father was conscious and died about three hours later,” he told the Associated Press. “We tried our best to save them, but we couldn’t.”

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

The Asian giant hornet, known as the “murder hornet” due to its aggressive behavior towards other insects such as bees, is found in Laos, as are several other species of wasps. It wasn’t clear which guy had stung them. Last December, agriculture officials confirmed the hornet has been eradicated in the United States invasive species was confirmed to be in the United States in 2019 after Washington state officials received and verified two reports of the hornet’s presence. Efforts were quickly made to locate and eliminate them.

The local clinic where the two were first treated declined to comment and Green Jungle Park did not respond to a question from the AP.

Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at the Phakan Arocavet clinic where the two men were first treated, told the UK Times their bodies were covered in red spots.

“It was very, very painful,” Phakan told the Times. “A lot of bites, over 100, all over my body. I already thought it was a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it this bad.”

The US State Department said it could confirm the deaths of two US citizens in Luang Prabang but would make no further comment “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones”.

Laos’ foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

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

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