A phone technician has died after being attacked by a swarm of hornets while he worked up a 100-foot telecommunications tower.

The footage shows the young man covered in painful-looking stings and pouring water over his head while sitting on the 30-metre (100-foot) tower as another person films him.

The victim, named as 30-year-old Mohamad Hafizuddin Husim, later reportedly passed away due to anaphylactic shock as a result of the numerous hornet stings.

The incident took place at the Kulim Telecom Tower in Felda Gunung Bongsu, Karangan, in the state of Kedah, Malaysia, a few miles from Penang, on Wednesday, 26th July.

Mohamad was first taken to the Karangan Health Clinic for treatment, local media quoted Kulim district police chief superintendent Mohd Redzuan Salleh as saying.

He was later transferred to Kulim Hospital after medics realised the seriousness of his condition.

The district police chief said that Mohamad was confirmed dead at midnight on 27th July.

He said that Mohamad died as a result of severe anaphylactic shock caused by the hornet stings and his body has been handed over to his family in Derga, Alor Setar, also in the state of Kedah, for burial.

It is currently unclear what kind of hornets stung the telecoms technician but the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), one of the largest in the world, is also one of the most common hornets in Malaysia.