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Introduction Vespa affinis is a hornet widely distributed in Sri Lanka and it is responsible for the highest number of deaths related to Hymenoptera stings. Apart from the early reactions, victims often die in hospital many hours later due to complications such as myocardial infarction and multiple organ failure. Increased microvascular permeability and acute pulmonary oedema as the primary pathology is less known in hornet envenoming. Case presentation Here, we report clinical and postmortem findings of two Sinhalese patients, a 48-year-old husband and his 46-year-old wife, who both died following a massive attack by hornets 32 hours and 9 hours after the incidence respectively. At postmortem examination, both patients had pleural effusions, acute pulmonary oedema and red cell casts in their urine. Their coronary arteries and histology of myocardium were normal. Conclusion Early recognition of acute pulmonary oedema in hornet stings is needed with implementation of crucial treatments to avert deaths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]