A father-son adventure in paradise was met with unexpected tragedy after a cloud of Asian giant hornets descended on them.
Daniel Owen, 47, the headmaster of an elite private school, lost his life alongside his teenage son during their Laos vacation.
“Something you'd see in a horror movie,” one commented on the tragic news.
A father-son adventure in paradise was met with unexpected tragedy
Image credits: quality_schools_international
Daniel and his 15-year-old son Cooper were holidaying in Laos when they unexpectedly lost their lives together.
On October 15, the father-son duo were enjoying some time outdoors and took a zip-lining trip at an eco-adventure resort near Luang Prabang on the Mekong River.
Image credits: Dan Owen
At some point while zip-lining, the tourists and their guide struggled to descend from a tree and were attacked by a swarm of Asian giant hornets, which are the largest species of hornet in the world.
They are known for their yellow-orange heads and prominent eyes. And they grow up to 1.5 to 2 inches in length.
Daniel Owen and his son were zip-lining when a cloud of Asian giant hornets descended on them
Image credits: Dan Owen
The army of insects reportedly stung the father and teenager more than 100 times.
The pair were then rushed to the Phakan Arocavet Clinic and pronounced deceased within a few hours.
Image credits: Dan Owen
Phanomsay Phakan, a doctor at the same hospital, said this was the first time he saw stings as bad as the ones Daniel and Cooper arrived with.
“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,” the doctor said.
“I thought already that it's a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it as bad as that,” he added.
The army of insects reportedly stung the father and teenager more than 100 times
Image credits: Ty Downs / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Reports revealed that Daniel, who was originally from Idaho, had been living abroad for nearly two decades.
The father had shared several pictures online capturing his thrill-seeking adventures, including climbing and skiing with his son.
He was living in Vietnam with his wife Jessica and son prior to their unexpected passing.
Image credits: huh1227
Daniel worked as the director of the Haiphong branch of Quality Schools International (QSI).
The elite private school chain is known to serve the children of diplomat parents from around the world and charges a tuition fee of up to $760 per month.
Daniel was the headmaster of an elite private school in the Vietnamese city of Haiphong
Image credits: Dan Owen
QSI released a statement acknowledging the school director’s passing.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Dan Owen, director of QSI International School of Haiphong, and his son Cooper, due to a tragic accident,” the statement said.
QSI said Daniel dedicated 18 years to the school network and offered his service to five different branches.
He touched “countless lives with his warmth, leadership, and unwavering commitment to education,” the statement said.
Image credits: QSI International School of Haiphong
“He was deeply loved across our community and will be profoundly missed. Our sincere condolences go out to the Owen family and all who knew and loved them,” the message continued.
The eco park acknowledged their passing and said they reviewed their “existing procedures.”
“This event is unprecedented in our experience and, to our understanding, in Luang Prabang as well,” they added. “It was an unforeseeable and extraordinary natural occurrence.”
The stings of an Asian giant hornet can cause pain, swelling, and sometimes become life-threatening
Image credits: Jessica Owen
The Asian giant hornet is native to Asia but has been spotted in the US in recent years.
Their stings can cause pain, swelling, and sometimes become life-threatening.
In Japan, about 30-50 people lose their lives to their stings every year.
Image credits: Jessica Owen
Typically, hornet hives or nests will be located in hard-to-reach places, often tucked away in secluded tree hollows or even underground.
“It’s very difficult to prevent the attacks, because hornet nests are usually in hidden sites,” Shunichi Makino, director general of the Hokkaido Research Center for Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute in Japan, previously told CNN.
An expert said it's “difficult to prevent the attacks, because hornet nests are usually in hidden sites”
Image credits: Yasunori Koide / wikimedia (not the actual photo)
Mu Conghui, a farm worker in China, was once attacked by a wasp while tending to a field of millet crops.
“The hornets were horrifying,” she told local news media in 2013. “They hit right at my head and covered my legs. All of a sudden, I was stung, and I couldn’t move.”
Image credits: Andrew Fraser
At the time, Mu spoke to the media about her two months of recovery, receiving 13 dialysis treatments and 200 stitches after the hornet attack.
“Even now, my legs are covered with sting holes,” she added back then.
“Thank God this can’t happen while I’m sitting on my couch,” one said online
