Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
A U.S. father and son who were doing a zipline tour at a resort in Laos were both killed by a swarm of dangerous wasps last month. Daniel Owen, 47, and his son Cooper, 15, had been vacationing at Green Jungle Park, an adventure resort near the city of Luang Prabang. On Oct. 15, the pair were descending from a tree when they were attacked by hundreds of what are believed to be Asian giant hornets, also known as murder hornets. Then were initially taken to a small clinic and then to a nearby hospital for further treatment. They both died several hours later. Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at the Phakan Arocavet Clinic, told The Independent that the pair had “a lot of stings, more than 100, over the whole body. I thought already that it’s a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it as bad as that,” Daniel Owen was the director of the QSI International School in Haiphong, Vietnam. Cooper was a student at that school. “Dan dedicated 18 years to QSI, serving in five different schools and touching countless lives with his warmth, leadership, and unwavering commitment to education,” the school said in a statement posted to Facebook. The park extended its condolences and said it has reviewed all of its existing procedures. “This event is unprecedented in our experience and, to our understanding, in Luang Prabang as well,” the park said, according to The New York Times. “It was an unforeseeable and extraordinary natural occurrence.” The venom of Asian giant hornets contains neurotoxins and tissue-destroying enzymes that can be fatal, especially for anyone who gets multiple stings.
