Police examine the body of a woman who was stung more than 60 times by hornets in Mondulkiri province’s Pech Chreada district. National police
A 49-year-old woman was stung nearly 70 times by hornets and subsequently died while lying on a hammock under a avocado tree at her home in Mondulkiri province’s Pou Kreng village, in Pech Chreada district’s Sre Ampoum commune, on January 15.
The victim was identified as Im Vannet. No one was certain where the swarm of hornets came from, and the incident was described as “rare and unusual” by the National Police.
Local police questioned multiple witnesses. Cheang Bora, a 24-year-old who was the victim’s god son, revealed that on the afternoon of the incident, he was lying in a hammock under his house when he heard the screams for help the victim, his neighbour.
He ran next door and saw Vannet flailing her arms to ward off the insects that were swarming and stinging her.
“Seeing the situation, I grabbed a blanket and covered her and myself. I told her to run away, but she replied that she couldn’t run. At that moment, she fell unconscious. Seeing this, I ran away to seek help,” he told commune police.
He explained that he first ran to the house of a woman named Mom, but no one was home. He then ran to the house of a woman named Seima, where he found Seima and her son, also being stung by hornets, albeit not as seriously. The three then returned to Vannet’s house.
“When I saw that the insects had flown away, I put her on a motorcycle and took her to the Sre Ampoum health centre for medical assistance. Unfortunately, the medical staff told me that she had already passed away. The cause of death was multiple hornet stings,” he said.
The health centre reported the case to the authorities, who immediately launched an investigation. The commune police examined the body and confirmed that there were 67 sting marks on the victim’s face and body.
“The body showed no signs of cuts, abrasions or other injuries on the head, torso or limbs. Based on our inspection of the scene, as well as interviews with witnesses, we confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances about the victim’s death. Experts concluded that the cause of death was indeed hornet stings,” the police stated.
