British expat dies from bee sting in Phuket

At around 11.50am yesterday (Mar 30), rescue workers from Rawai Municipality were called to a house on Soi Kitprasarn 1 where a local expat needed help being in critical serious condition after a bee sting. 

Having arrived at the scene, Rawai rescue workers found Stephen Prince, 68, from the UK, already in ’code blue’ condition. The expat was unconscious, had no pulse and was not breathing. 

Rescue workers immediately proceeded to perform CPR and requested an EMS Advance Unit from Chalong Hospital, which then rushed Mr Prince to hospital. Despite all the efforts, medics could not save the elderly expat’s life.

Capt Weerapong Crinalpan from Chalong was informed of the death and requested to come to Chalong Hospital to take part in the immediate ’autopsy’ procedures. Mr Prince’s body was then taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital morgue after that.

Mr Prince’s Thai wife explained later that her husband was known to be allergic to insect bites and other allergens. Once the man had lost consciousness after eating honey, in another case he had gone unconscious after a bee sting. 

This time Mr Prince was stung by a bee while riding home on his motorcycle. The man’s wife administered antihistamines, but Mr Prince’s condition did not improve. The Thai woman called 1669 when he lost consciousness.

Rawai Municipality rescue worker Natchak Wattanarajjiroj told Phuket reporters that this was the first case in his 4-year-long career when a patient developed such a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting. He did not provide any recommendations on what a person should do in the case of somebody having such a reaction to an insect sting or a jellyfish sting.