A California woman was stung more than 1,000 times and three firefighters were hurt after a swarm of killer bees attacked Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
The 71-year-old woman was completely covered with the hybrid insects, known as Africanized honey bees, when emergency workers responded to the Palm Desert home about 4:40 p.m., authorities said.
Five firefighters were hurt as they cleared the swarm and placed the woman in an ambulance. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where she was recovering from serious injuries, according to KCBS-TV.
Two firefighters were treated at the scene, but three were taken to a hospital for minor injuries.
Authorities called a local company, Killer Bee Inc., to clear the 75,000 bees — which built a hive inside a buried Verizon cable box.
The company’s owner, Lance Davis, told Palm Desert Patch that the aggressive bees attacked simply because the woman stepped within a 90-yard radius of the swarm.
“They just went into her car and attacked her,” Davis told the news site. “They were mad.”
Davis said he removed the bees for free and brought them to his hives several miles away, where they will produce honey.
“We do these jobs all the time, where someone has gotten the bees all excited,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t take much to get these guys angry.”
The veteran beekeeper said he’s able to clear even the fiercest swarm of bees without getting stung.
“My actions are a lot different around them than most people,” he told the news site. “People call me the bee whisperer, believe it or not.”
