A father and son from the U.S. died while on vacation in Laos when they were apparently stung by dozens of murder hornets while ziplining.

The New York Times reported that Daniel Owens, who was originally from Idaho, and his 15-year-old son Cooper were visiting Laos from Vietnam, where the elder Owens is the director of QSI International School, where his son also attended.

They were visiting an adventure park in Luang Prabang on Oct. 15 when they were stung.

The father and son were taken to a small clinic, where the doctor, Phanomsay Phakan, told The Times in London, “Their whole bodies were covered in red spots. It was very, very painful. A lot of stings, more than 100, over the whole body. I thought already that it’s a very dangerous situation because I had never seen it as bad as that.”

They were not showing signs of anaphylactic shock or an allergic reaction to the stings during the short time they were at the clinic. In less than an hour, they were transferred from the facility to the Luang Prabang provincial hospital, where they died a few hours later, The Times in London said.

Medical personnel were told the father and son were stung by wasps, but within that insect family, there are Asian giant hornets, also known as murder hornets, which have venom containing neurotoxins and enzymes that can destroy tissue. The stings can be deadly, especially if a person is stung multiple times.

An official cause of death for the Owens was not provided. The Laotian health ministry also did not comment on their deaths, The New York Times reported.

Green Jungle Park, where Daniel and Cooper were ziplining, told The New York Times that it has reviewed procedures and has "further enhanced aspects of our emergency response protocols, including the evacuation process for the zip-line course.”

The park said it was “unprecedented” and “unforeseeable.”

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