Thai man hunting honey in forest dies from bee stings

A Thai man died from bee stings yesterday after he and his friends hunted for honey in the Phu Phan National Park in the Isaan province of Kalasin.

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, discovering numerous bee sting wounds on his face and body.

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 shouted that he got stung.

Somsak immediately went to check and found Thongphan hanging unconscious from the tree by a vine wrapped around his ankle. He rushed to the community to seek help, but unfortunately, it was too late, and Thongphan passed away.

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.

Prince was stung only once while riding a motorcycle. His wife provided him with the EpiPen immediately, but it was not effective. The wife explained that Prince had a history of allergies to honey and had experienced a serious allergic reaction when stung by a bee on his hand previously. Prince was also allergic to ant bites and other insect bites.

In another incident in February, an elderly couple in the northern province of Tak was attacked by a swarm of over 10,000 wild bees. Multiple stings were shown all over their bodies, and the woman suffered more serious injuries. The bees were reported to be frightened and escaped from the forest due to the wildfires.