Thai man hunting honey in forest dies from bee stings

[webfact]

Photo via Always News

 

by Petch Petpailin

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.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thai-man-hunting-honey-in-forest-dies-from-bee-stings

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-04-21

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

The most versatile and flexible rental investment and holiday home solution in Thailand - click for more information.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Somsak said Thongphan was wearing a balaclava

And he was the one with experience?

[Joker Man]

So sad that  the Experienced instead got stung. 

[nobodysfriend]

On 4/21/2023 at 12:07 PM, webfact said:

he and his friends hunted for honey in the Phu Phan National Park

 

On 4/21/2023 at 12:07 PM, webfact said:

minutes later, Thongphan shouted that he got stung.

som nam na ...

[Skeptic7]

Score one for wildlife❗????

[sirineou]

A man was killed in a tragic  accident . 

Nothing funny about this IMO

My condolences to his Family and friends.

[gargamon]

So he was trying to steal the honey from the bees and the bees didn't like it. Hmmm. 

 

You gotta be smarter than the bees... 

[chalawaan]

Play stupid games...

[chalawaan]

42 minutes ago, sirineou said:

A man was killed in a tragic  accident . 

Nothing funny about this IMO

My condolences to his Family and friends.

No, a man was killed being an idiot. 

That makes it even worse for his family. 

But let's not sugar coat the truth. 

[sirineou]

11 minutes ago, chalawaan said:

No, a man was killed being an idiot. 

That makes it even worse for his family. 

But let's not sugar coat the truth. 

How do you know he was an Idiot? 

He did what Thai people do , and according to the article, because I was there as much as you. he had   "Somsak said Thongphan was wearing a balaclava and climbed up a tree with a lit torch to smoke out the bees from the hive. "

[Dazkkk]

We had a huge hornets nest (1 meter across and the same in length) in the eaves of our house in Hua Hin. I offered to pay the builders on site 1000 Baht to remove it, they refused the money but asked to keep the nest for the grubs which they liked to eat. So up the ladder the guy went with a balaclava on and with some burning/smoking cardboard and a couple of big, black bin liners.
 

He smoked the nest and used a machete to cut the nest in pieces and popped them into the bin bags. Obviously the hornets went crazy, but he didn’t seem too worried and carried on until the nest lay in bags on the garden. 
We of course locked ourselves in the house until the job was finished and the remaining hornets had gone. ????

[Yorkshire Tea]

On 4/21/2023 at 12:07 PM, webfact said:

Somsak said Thongphan was wearing a balaclava

Sure he wasn't wearing baklava on his head?

[chalawaan]

On 6/11/2023 at 8:11 AM, sirineou said:

How do you know he was an Idiot? 

He did what Thai people do , and according to the article, because I was there as much as you. he had   "Somsak said Thongphan was wearing a balaclava and climbed up a tree with a lit torch to smoke out the bees from the hive. "

So being a Thai now absolves him of idiotic behaviour just because it's the norm here that many think they know it all? Like how everyone just "learns" to ride a scooter, and look at the death toll!

 

 

Would he be an idiot in the west? 

 

Yes, he would!

 

 

There is a reason beekeepers wear full protection, and they don't dangle from trees unless they have a specific reason to do that to locate a queen and move the hive.

 

Furthermore, I'm not bagging Thai people, but when I am unsure of any task, I go online and LEARN. 

 

I encourage my wife to do this also, but no, she loves doing things her "quaint" local  way!

 

That would be fine if I don't have to fix the mess, or pay up because she destroyed something by ignoring the instructions.

 

In any country, unless you're a trained apiarist, or a lifelong hunter gatherer, which modern Thais are not, then buy your honey at Lotus's. It's not rocket science, and he would still be around.  

 

[Captain Monday]

On 6/10/2023 at 6:11 PM, sirineou said:

How do you know he was an Idiot? 

He did what Thai people do , and according to the article, because I was there as much as you. he had   "Somsak said Thongphan was wearing a balaclava and climbed up a tree with a lit torch to smoke out the bees from the hive. "

Is it legal to damage bee nests to collect honey in a Thai Natural Park?

 

[save the frogs]

On 4/21/2023 at 1:07 AM, webfact said:

was wearing a balaclava

he was wearing a greek dessert?

[sirineou]

18 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

Is it legal to damage bee nests to collect honey in a Thai Natural Park?

 

I don't know, 

[Eleftheros]

Spare a thought for the Bangladeshi workers who have to make their living taking honey from bees' nests in the tropical swamps of the Sundarbans, with its snakes, mosquitoes, leeches, tigers, leopards, centipedes and scorpions.

 

For many of the villagers, it is the only way to make a living: no honey, no money.

[sirineou]

43 minutes ago, chalawaan said:

So being a Thai now absolves him of idiotic behaviour just because it's the norm here that many think they know it all? Like how everyone just "learns" to ride a scooter, and look at the death toll!

 

 

Would he be an idiot in the west? 

 

Yes, he would!

 

 

There is a reason beekeepers wear full protection, and they don't dangle from trees unless they have a specific reason to do that to locate a queen and move the hive.

 

Furthermore, I'm not bagging Thai people, but when I am unsure of any task, I go online and LEARN. 

 

I encourage my wife to do this also, but no, she loves doing things her "quaint" local  way!

 

That would be fine if I don't have to fix the mess, or pay up because she destroyed something by ignoring the instructions.

 

In any country, unless you're a trained apiarist, or a lifelong hunter gatherer, which modern Thais are not, then buy your honey at Lotus's. It's not rocket science, and he would still be around.  

 

I

These are simple country people. and it seems like he was taking more precautions than most thais I know, I personally have on several occasions seen Thais collecting Honey by simply Lighting a fire under the tree and smoking them. From what is reported he seemed to be taking more precaution than most. 

Don't confuse unsophisticated with stupid. I am sure you are unsophisticated in some subjects , and that does not make you stupid. 

Go on the internet and research the subject? are you serious? these people are farmers not internet researchers. The farmer next to my farm, a very nice guy that I use all the time to help me does not even have a cell phone. 

And suppose he was stupid, does that make his life any less valuable? 

Have some compassion and respect. Not everyone can be a genius like you.