N West farmer stung to death
2003-02-24 23:37
Rustenburg - A swarm of bees attacked and killed a farmer who disturbed their nest while ploughing a field.
Willie du Preez, 46, jumped off his tractor and dived into a dam to escape them, but they followed him, all the time stinging him.
They followed him home and attacked his wife Annetjie as well.
Du Preez died within an hour.
June du Preez, his mother, on Monday said her son was ploughing a field to plant vegetables.
"When the bees attacked him, he took off his shirt and tried to scare them off. He jumped into a nearby dam, but the moment he got out, the bees attacked again," she said.
Annetjie phoned neighbours for help. They injected Du Preez, but he died on the way to hospital.
"He was never allergic to bee-stings before, but because it was such a large swarm, their poison probably killed him," his mother said.