24 people injured in massive bee attack in France
In an unusual bee attack in the French city of Aurillac, 24 people were injured, including three who, according to local authorities, were in a critical condition but have since recovered.
According to the prefecture of Cantal in south-central France, passers-by were stung on Sunday morning over a period of approximately 30 minutes.
Firefighters and medical teams rushed to the scene to treat the victims, while police established a security perimeter until the bees had ended their attack.
The three individuals who were in a critical condition were evacuated to a local hospital. Pierre Mathonier, the mayor of Aurillac, told the French television channel BFM TV on Monday that their condition had improved.
One of them was a 78-year-old who had to be resuscitated following a cardiac arrest and is now in a stable condition, he said. The other two “are in good health,” he added.
In the mayor's view, the incident could be linked to Asian hornets that had been threatening a beehive installed more than a decade ago on the rooftop terrace of a hotel in the city centre. This had likely caused the bees to become aggressive, the mayor said.
Mathonier said the beekeeper had removed the hive and relocated it outside the city.
Lieutenant Colonel Michel Cayla, who is responsible for the local fire service, said he had never experienced such an attack before. The victim who had suffered a cardiac and respiratory arrest had to be resuscitated in the fire brigade's ambulance.
“The number of victims, the panic among people, and the severity of some of the injuries were striking,” he told the television channel TF1.
