BANGKOK — 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 many dozens of times, a hospital spokesman said Thursday.
Dan Owen, the principal of an international school in neighboring Vietnam, and his son Cooper were attacked by insects Oct. 15 at Green Jungle Park as they climbed down from a tree at the end of a cable car.
The camp is located outside the city. Luang Prabanga popular tourist attraction in the Southeast Asian country, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
Both were taken to a local clinic and then taken to Luang Prabang Provincial Hospital, where they arrived in critical condition, said Yorwu Yanushongteng, the emergency room doctor who treated them.
“The son was unconscious and died within half an hour, and 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 suffering more than 100 bites 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, is found in Laos, as are several other wasp species. It is unclear what type stung the two.
The local clinic where the two were first treated declined to comment, and Green Jungle Park did not respond to an AP request. The Lao Foreign Ministry also did not respond to requests for comment.
The US State Department said it could confirm the deaths of two US citizens in Luang Prabang, but did not comment on the situation “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones.”
In a Facebook post, Owen's employer, Quality Schools International, praised him for “touching countless lives” during his 18 years with the chain, which operates 35 schools around the world. It said he worked in five schools and was the director of QSI International School in Hai Phong in Vietnam at the time of his death.
“He was greatly loved in our community and will be greatly missed,” the school said. “Our sincere condolences go out to Owen’s family and everyone who knew and loved them.”
