A woman in her 60s died in French Guiana after suffering “several thousand” bee stings when a swarm attacked a group of visitors to a small island, a Cayenne fire official said Wednesday.
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“Three people in dire need and nine in relative need” were being cared for on the continent, in the French community in South America, said Lt. Col. Eric Batany, head of operations at the departmental fire brigade and de Secours (SDIS). during a press conference.
The three people “in absolute distress” also suffered from bites, he said.
The group of 34 was attacked “by a swarm of bees in turmoil” on Tuesday on the island of Ilet la Mère, which belongs to the city of Cayenne and is about five kilometers from the coast, Cayenne Mayor Sandra Trochimara told the newspaper the press “This is the first time that this natural site has experienced such a tragedy”.
Most famous for its monkeys, the site is uninhabited but open to visitors. However, the mayor ordered that access be banned until further notice.
“Normally, swarms of bees are not aggressive,” explained Lt. Col. Batany. They were “either disturbed by the passage of people, or [l’essaim] was on the way. In his opinion, this attack was surprising since the presence of bees on the site had never been detected. These are wild insects.
According to the same source, members of the Guyana Beekeepers Association are on hand to find and destroy the swarm.