American father-son duo stung to death by Asian giant hornets as vacation turns deadly while zip-lining in Laos

A vacation in Laos turned tragic when a swarm of Asian giant hornets fatally attacked a US citizen and his son, New York Post reported. The victims, identified as the director of an elite private school and his young son, were reportedly stung more than 100 times before succumbing to their injuries a few hours later despite being rushed to a nearby hospital.

According to local authorities, Daniel Owen, 47, and his 15-year-old son, Cooper, were attacked by a swarm of Asian giant hornets while zip-lining at an eco-adventure resort near Luang Prabang on the Mekong River in Laos on October 15. The pair were stung more than 100 times as they tried to descend from a tree with their guide.

The hornets - which can grow up to two inches long and possess a quarter-inch stinger - swarmed the group mid-descent, according to The Times, citing local health officials, as quoted by New York Post.

"Their whole bodies were covered in red spots. It was very, very painful. A lot of stings, more than one hundred, over the whole body," Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at the Phakan Arocavet Clinic, said as quoted by New York Post.

"I thought already that it’s a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it as bad as that. I have never seen a death and I have been working more than 20 years," Phakan added.

Owen, who was originally from Idaho, had spent nearly 20 years living overseas, serving as the director of the Haiphong campus of Quality Schools International (QSI) in Vietnam.

"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.

WHAT IS ASIAN GIANT HORNET

The Asian giant hornet, often called the 'murder hornet', is the world’s largest hornet species, native to East and Southeast Asia. Measuring up to two inches long with a quarter-inch stinger, it delivers potent venom that can cause severe pain, allergic reactions, and, in rare cases, death.

These hornets, who mainly feed on bees and wasps, are highly aggressive when their nests are disturbed and can destroy entire honeybee colonies within hours.