A Hong Kong conservation officer died in hospital on Wednesday after he was reportedly bitten by an insect and fainted in a country park.

The Post has learned that the 46-year-old man, an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, was on duty at Tai Mo Shan Country Park in Tai Po with his two colleagues, a 63-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, at the time of the incident.

The Post also learned that the victim told his colleagues that he suspected he had been bitten by an insect before passing out after a short distance.

A police spokeswoman did not reveal the victim’s identity, but said: “When the man reached the Mo Tung Lam area, he was reportedly bitten by something and later fainted.”

After one of his colleagues called the police at around 11:10 a.m., rescue workers made their way to the scene of the accident.

She said the man was flown by helicopter to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2pm.

The spokeswoman said police are continuing to investigate the case.

The Post has contacted the ministry for comment.

Anson Cheng, founder of the volunteer rescue group Hong Kong Guardians, said insects of the Vespa and millipede genus were most likely to cause allergic reactions and urged hikers to stay away from them.

Cheng stressed that anyone who has been stung should try to identify the type of infection so that medical staff can administer the most appropriate antidote.

He also warned hikers not to try to suck on the wound to extract venom, as this approach is ineffective and dangerous.

He was not aware of any particular species of animals that posed a high risk in the Tai Mo Shan area.

The incident occurred as temperatures in Tai Po rose to 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit), prompting the Hong Kong Observatory to issue a “very heat warning.”

In May last year, Ng Kwok-pui, a 64-year-old field assistant from the same department, died after being stung four times by bees while planting trees in Lantau South Country Park.

At the time of the incident, Ng was one of five workers from the department planting trees along the Chi Ma Wan Country Trail near Mong Tung Wan.

He was one of two workers attacked by bees in two separate incidents within four hours on the same day.

The other worker, a 33-year-old man, became unconscious after being stung on the back of his hand during slope repair work in Sha Tin. He regained consciousness before emergency personnel arrived at the scene and was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital for further treatment.