Bee swarm 'too big, aggressive'
2005-11-08 08:10
Johannesburg - Paramedics looked on helplessly on Monday afternoon as a giant swarm of bees stung an elderly woman to death and also severely stung her husband.
The swarm attacked the couple on Monday afternoon after their car crashed into a substation in Senderwood, Johannesburg, where the swarm was making its hive.
Paramedics struggled for about 20 minutes to reach the couple while more than 100 000 bees furiously attacked them.
The elderly man lost control of his Jeep Cherokee at 14:00 when a bakkie hit the side of the Jeep in Club Street. The Jeep crashed over the kerb and ploughed into the substation.
The swarm had made its hive in the substation's ceiling and within seconds fell upon the couple while they were still in the wreckage.
Swarm too big, aggressive
''The man got out and fell over (he'd broken a leg in the collision). He screamed for help while the bees swarmed over him. He tried to crawl. We threw a blanket to him but he couldn't reach it. The woman, 60, stood for a while and then collapsed.
''It was terrible. The ambulance men could not get near them, the swarm was too big and aggressive,'' said domestic worker Sina Mokoena who lives across the street from the scene of the accident.
Another bystander said the pair had been so thickly covered in bees that he couldn't see their faces or arms.
While paramedics of Netcare 911 struggled to reach the couple, the fire brigade was summoned to hose down the bees.
''One of the neighbours eventually lent a paramedic his bee-keeping gear. He dragged the people out of the swarm and tried to treat them. It looked as if the people were wearing jerseys, the bees covered them so thickly,'' said Netcare spokesperson Paul Nel.
Honeycomb about 3 m long
The woman died at the scene. She had thousands of bee stings on her face, neck and arms. Her husband was raced to the Linksfield Hospital where he is now stable and being treated in the high-care unit for the stings and a broken leg.
Members of the Johannesburg metro police cordoned off the accident scene and closed part of Club Street to traffic, while some of the bees also attacked them from time to time.
Bee-catcher Jacques van Niekerk was summoned to spray and kill the swarm inside the substation so that the accident scene could be cleared.
He said the swarm of over 100 000 must have lived in the substation for about 10 years. ''The honeycomb was about 3m long, 2m wide and at least 30cm thick. It's one of the biggest hives and swarms I've seen in 10 years,'' he said.
He believes the tragedy may have been prevented if City Power inspected the substations regularly to ensure that swarms were removed before they got so big and became a danger.
Entomologist Professor Erik Holm said about 100 bee stings would be enough to kill someone.