Two Americans — 47-year-old Daniel Owen and his 15-year-old son Cooper — died on October 15 after being swarmed and stung more than one hundred times while zip-lining at Green Jungle Park, an eco-adventure resort near Luang Prabang, Laos. The insects involved were identified as Asian giant hornets, which are known to attack in large numbers when nests are disturbed.
Park staff reported that the hornets swarmed the two Americans and their guide during their zip-lining descent. The victims were taken to a local clinic, where physicians said they were conscious on arrival and showed no outward signs of anaphylactic shock, but had bodies covered in red spots consistent with more than one hundred stings. Dr Phanomsay Phakan, who treated the victims, said he had never seen stinging injuries of such severity in more than 20 years of practice. Despite the initial consciousness of the patients, both father and son later died; the clinic’s records described the extent of the stings on their bodies.
Green Jungle Park issued a statement following the incident saying it had reviewed all existing procedures, extended condolences to the Owen family and described the event as unprecedented. The resort, marketed as an eco-adventure destination near the UNESCO city of Luang Prabang, did not provide additional operational details in the immediate aftermath. Quality Schools International, the organization that noted Daniel Owen’s long service, issued a statement expressing deep sadness at his death.
Asian giant hornets are among the largest hornet species and can grow up to 6.35 centimeters. Entomologists and public-health experts note the species can cause severe local tissue damage, including necrosis, and that mass stings have the potential to be fatal. In countries where the hornets are more commonly encountered, such attacks have been linked to multiple deaths annually; in Japan, authorities report up to 50 deaths a year associated with hornet stings. Outside those areas, fatal incidents are much rarer, and deaths following large-scale stings remain relatively uncommon in Laos.
Authorities and medical personnel treating sting victims typically assess both the immediate allergic response and the cumulative toxic effect of many stings. In this case, treating clinicians observed a high count of puncture marks and extensive localized reactions. The park’s admission that the episode was unprecedented underscores the rarity of such an outcome at commercial adventure sites in the region, where encounters with large hornets are not routinely reported as a known occupational hazard.
The incident has prompted the resort to re-evaluate safety protocols, according to the park’s statement, although it did not announce specific procedural changes. It was not disclosed whether Lao authorities had opened a formal investigation into the circumstances that led to the hornet attack or whether the nest responsible for the swarming had been located and removed. Local officials and entomologists have previously advised caution in areas where Asian giant hornets are known to nest and have noted that nests are typically aggressive when disturbed.
The deaths raise questions about risk assessment and mitigation at outdoor adventure sites in regions that host large stinging insects. Green Jungle Park’s review of its procedures and the expressions of condolence from the park and from Quality Schools International mark the immediate response; further information on any regulatory inquiry, the status of the guide who was also reportedly swarmed, and any changes to operations has not been released publicly. Experts emphasize that while such mass-stinging events are rare, they can be lethal, particularly when a person sustains a high number of stings.