Six People Stung to Death by Killer Bees After Bus Crashes Into Hives

Six people have been killed by bees in Nicaragua after a bus crashed into a ravine and hit several beehives during the 165-foot plummet.

Per The New York Post, a bus traveling from Jinotega to San Sebastián de Yalí on Monday verged off course after suffering from a mechanical problem. The bus swerved off the road and plunged into a nearby ravine, landing in a coffee plantation. While the passengers survived the initial crash, the bush hit several beehives, unleashing a swarm of killer Africanized bees that attacked the passengers, leaving six of them dead.

The victims included 47-year-old Eneyda Tórrez Zelaya, 8-year-old Andrea Carolina, 84-year-old Reyna Isabel Olivas Montalván, 38-year-old Santos Arnulfo Calderón Castellón, 32-year-old Dilcia Flores Amparo, and 19-year-old Kenia Jazmín Soza Bonilla. Approximately 45 people were on board the bus at the time of the accident, including the driver. In addition to the dead, at least 14 passengers were left with serious injuries.

The Africanized honey bee is a cross-breed bee between the European honey bee and the African honey bee. As the Smithsonian points out, cross-breed bees are considered significantly more dangerous because they can sting ten times more than your average single-breed bee.

Since the ‘50s, there have been over 1,000 reported deaths by Africanized honey bees in Brazil, where they were brought to help increase the production of honey. Eventually, several bees escaped and bred with European honey bees, leading to cross-breeds that have since been found in neighboring countries including Nicaragua and the United States.