Giant bee swarm leaves 40 people in hospital in Uruguay

Attack of the bees! Giant swarm leaves 40 people in hospital, as terrified motorists abandon their cars in the street to escape insects in Uruguay

• Some 40 people had to be hospitalised after the attack on a Uruguayan street
• Eight children were also rushed to hospital for A&E treatment after the swarm 
• Terrified locals abandoned their cars after bees entered their moving vehicles

Nearly 40 people had to be hospitalised in a Uruguayan city after being attacked by bees.

Terrified locals abandoned their cars in the middle of the street and tried to flee on foot after the insects entered their moving vehicles through open windows.

The shock incident happened on Thursday afternoon in the centre of Melo, Uruguay’s ninth-most populated city with just over 50,000 inhabitants around 35 miles from the country’s border with Brazil.

Police confirmed overnight 37 people including eight children were rushed to A&E for treatment.

Terrified locals abandoned their cars in the middle of the street and tried to flee on foot after the bees entered their vehicles through open windows

Beekeepers in protective suits were called in to remove the hives using poison and make the area safe in an operation which took nearly an hour

The beekeepers in protective suits came to remove the hive on a street in Melo, Uruguay

The beekeepers used a smoke-based poison to make the area safe after the bee attack

Officers drove many of those who were stung to hospital in their patrol cars as colleagues closed streets in the centre of the city to make sure no one else entered the danger zone.

One of those affected told local press: ‘My son ran like mad but he still got stung about 15 times.

‘Many people were in a state of desperation. They abandoned motorbikes and cars. I had my car windows down when a swarm of bees appeared out of nowhere and came in.’

The scare has been blamed on two hives of bees said to have kept without permission at a house near the spot where motorists and pedestrians were stung.

Beekeepers in protective suits were called in to remove the hives using poison and make the area safe in an operation which took nearly an hour.

One of the experts who helped remove them said: ‘People were kept away for around an hour.’

People were kept away from the street for around an hour as beekeepers delt with the issue

Two of the children who were stung are understood to have kept in hospital overnight

The scare has been blamed on two hives of bees said to have kept without permission at a house near the spot where motorists and pedestrians were stung

It was not immediately clear why the bees had gone on the attack, but experts said they could have been stressed by noises like the beeping of a car horn

Local journalist Silvia Techera said: ‘I saw people running everywhere and heard lots of sirens.

‘Shopkeepers were closing their doors.

‘I never imagined for one minute it was going to be down to bees. They appeared to be very angry.

‘Cars, motorbikes and crash helmets had been left in the middle of the street.

‘At one point the insects began to attack me as well and I sought refuge in my radio station.’

It was not immediately clear why the bees had gone on the attack, but experts said they could have been stressed by noises like the beeping of a car horn.

Two of the children stung are understood to have kept in hospital overnight.

A severe allergic reaction to bee stings is potentially life-threatening. A small percentage of people stung by a bee quickly develop anaphylaxis with symptoms including swelling of the throat and tongue.

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