Hornets are generally not as aggressive as you think, but when provoked, they can attack as they feel threatened, and their sting can sometimes be detrimental to humans. Even though their venom isn’t toxic to us, the amount of venom they release per sting can be harmful, depending on their size.
Therefore, for this reason, it’s always best to stay away from them whenever we come across their nest or we could risk losing our lives, just like this poor boy.
Sinar Harian reported that a UPSR candidate recently died after being stung by a swarm of hornets, yesterday (24 September 2018) evening. At 5.15pm, Mohd Faiz Hatim Zaidi passed away in Hospital Daerah Mersing where he was treated after the fateful incident. Oh no!
According to the district police chief superintendent Cyril Edward, the incident took place in Kampung Tanjung Genting when the victim and four of his friends tried to get some coconuts by throwing sticks up a tree.
Unfortunately, the sticks that they threw hit another nearby coconut tree, which had a hornet’s nest on it and as a result, the boys were attacked by a swarm of hornets. Poor boys!
Cyril was quoted as saying,
“All of the victims scattered in frantic. Two of them were admitted to Hospital Daerah Mersing by their families.”
Meanwhile, the other boy, who was admitted at the same time as the deceased boy, survived but he is still receiving treatment in the hospital. Besides him, the other three boys managed to survive the attack as they were not seriously harmed. Only one boy didn’t survive the attack.
We extend our condolences to the kid’s family and we hope that this incident will serve as a reminder to not (consciously or unconsciously) disturb a hornet’s nest. They can be lethal if provoked!
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