A truck carrying 250 million bees overturned in the United States, sparking panic among the population. The insects were released and invaded the area.
Authorities issued an alert and recommended avoiding the surrounding area to prevent accidents.
The dramatic event occurred early Friday morning in Washington, in a rural area of Whatcom County, just north of Seattle, near the Canadian border. The collision occurred around 4 a.m., but it wasn’t until 9 a.m. that the hives broke free from the trailer and the bees escaped.
“No one could have predicted that 250 million bees would be loose on a highway,” the Washington Division of Emergency Management wrote in a statement released via social media. “So, stay back. Just… don’t get close to them,” they warned.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office reported in a Facebook post that emergency crews are working alongside more than two dozen beekeepers to contain the situation.
“We’re literally grabbing a box of bees and then grabbing the frames that contain the honey, the bees, and the brood, putting them back in the box, and putting them on pallets to hopefully have some survival rate to work with,”
— Beekeeper Derek Condit, to KOMO News.
Matt Klein, deputy director of Emergency Management for the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, was stung a dozen times while working at the scene. However, he assured that fortunately it was not that traumatic:
“They are honey bees, so the sting is not as severe as other bees, so, so far, everyone is okay,” he told the aforementioned media.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday night that the work was complete:
“The hive boxes from the overturned truck have been recovered, refurbished, and returned to use. By morning, most of the bees should have returned to their hives,” adding, “There is no overall risk to public health.”