A Thai man died from multiple bee stings yesterday while he and his friend were collecting honey in the Phu Phan National Park in Thailand's Kalasin province.
The deceased was identified as 51-year-old Thongphan Jitchomphu. His body was found hanging from a vine 10 metres above the ground in the forest. A rescue team and locals helped to retrieve Thongphan's body, and found numerous bee sting wounds on his face and body, as reported by local news outlet Thaiger.
Thongpan was Trying to Smoke Out the Bees
Thongphan went hunting for honey with his Somsak, who was the first to report the death to locals and rescue services. Somsak explained that this was his first time hunting honey, and Thongphan was more experienced. Somsak said Thongphan instructed him to stay away from the hive while he went up to collect the honey.
Somsak said Thongphan was wearing a balaclava and climbed up a tree with a lit torch to smoke out the bees from the hive. Five minutes later, Thongphan screamed for help as he got stung.
Thongpan May Have Been Allergic to Bee Stings
Somsak immediately went to check and found Thongphan hanging unconscious from the tree by a vine wrapped around his ankle. He rushed to get help, but unfortunately, it was too late. Thongphan was pronounced dead.
A local man who assisted the rescuers – Kongkham Phonyium – mentioned that the smoke and hot weather may have contributed to the severity of Thongphan's reaction to the bee stings.
Thongphan's body was sent to a hospital for an autopsy to determine his exact cause of death. It is possible that Thongphan was allergic to bee stings, as was the case with a 69 year old British man, Stephen Leonard Prince, in Phuket three weeks ago. The foreigner died after suffering from an allergic reaction to a single bee sting, Thaiger previously reported.
