'Aggressive': Tragedy after vicious 'bee attack' on two people
Firefighters have been unable to save the victim of a horrific bee attack.
Police and the fire department were called to a house in Breckenridge, Texas on Monday and were met with “very aggressive bee activity”, firefighter Calvin Cheney wrote on Facebook.
Firefighters were told one patient stung by the bees had gone into cardiac arrest, but had managed to escape to inside the house.
A woman was also found inside the house and Mr Cheney said a firefighter gave her their protective gear.
She was taken by a fire truck to safety and later hospitalised.
Authorities had to door knock residents to warn them not to go outside.
“Hive was located and BFD (Brackenridge Fire Department) firefighter Chad Skiles and beekeeper Joey Venekamp were successful in locating and removing hive with hand tools and foam,” Mr Cheney wrote.
It’s not clear what species of bee attacked the pair.
Africanised bees can be found in Texas though and are known for being more aggressive than honey bees, according to Texas A&M’s Texas Apiary Inspection Service.
Battle to stop murder hornets invasion in US and Canada
Meanwhile the US and neighbouring Canada are in the midst of trying to eradicate murder hornets, which are an apex predator.
Scientists said on Wednesday (local time) the battle to prevent the apex predators from establishing a foothold in North America is being fought mostly in Whatcom County, Washington, and the nearby Fraser Valley of British Columbia, where the hornets have been spotted in recent years.
“This is not a species we want to tolerate here in the United States,” Sven-Erik Spichiger of the Washington state Department of Agriculture, which eradicated a nest of the Asian giant hornets last year, said.
“The Asian giant hornet is not supposed to be here.”
Scientists have been studying the genetics of captured hornets and comparing them with those that exist in South Korea, Japan and China, he said but it's not clear if these animals come from these countries.
Asian giant hornets can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom. Despite their nickname and the hype that has stirred fears, the world’s largest hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asian countries, and experts say it is probably far less.
Meanwhile, hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
with The Associated Press
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