Siblings stung to death in hornet attack

Monday October 5, 2009
Siblings stung to death in hornet attack
By JACK WONG
KUCHING: Two children died and three others were hospitalised after they were attacked by a swarm of hornets near here.
The dead were identified as Chen Sze Ying, six, and her three-year-old brother Chun Jie. They died several hours after they were rushed to the Sarawak General Hospital here at about 5.40pm.
Their mother Tan Wan Chew, 29, elder sister Sze Ting, eight, and their uncle Tan Lan Chia, 11, survived the attack. Their condition is said to be stable. Wan Chew, her three children and her younger brother were going for a late afternoon stroll on a hill at Sungai Moyan in Batu Kawa near their home when they were suddenly swarmed and stung by the hornets.
According to a relative, Wan Chew quickly grabbed Sze Ying, who was crying, and ran for safety with her other children and brother. After reaching home, they sought help from their neighbours who rushed them to the hospital.
It is not known if the hornets’ nest found behind a pile of rocks on the hill, had been disturbed.
The tragedy shocked the peaceful neighbourhood. Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen, who visited Chen’s family and the scene of the incident yesterday, informed the Fire and Rescue Department of the location of the hornets’ nest.