Killer Bees Sting to Death Several Nicaragua Bus Passengers After Falling Into Ravine, Disturbing Hives

Killer bees stung to death several Nicaragua bus passengers earlier this week after they fell into a ravine and disrupted multiple bee hives, according to local reports. The hives belong to the species Africanized honey bee or Africanized bee (Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier) which reportedly perceived the bus and its passengers to be a threat.

The reports said none of the bus passengers died from the initial fall until the Africanized honey bees attacked them. Those who died, including a mother and her 8-year-old daughter, suffered numerous stings throughout their body, while other passengers sustained injuries.

Nicaragua Killer Bee Attack

The bus, with a one-hour journey from Jinotega to San Sebastian de Yali, was carrying 60 passengers when it suddenly lost control and skidded off the road and fell at a height of 165 feet into a ravine, according to local sources via the New York Post, Fox News reported.

Although the said passengers survived the initial drop, the vehicle landed in a coffee plantation field which was home to the Africanized bees. Based on the report, the angry insects stung repeatedly the passengers and bite marks were seen from head to toe of the victims.

Bee Attack Casualties

A total of six people died as a result of being stung many times following the road accident. Meanwhile, 14 others were sent to the hospital following the incident.

In a video report, the New York Post said the bus had a "mechanical problem," which caused it to plunged into the ravine and collide with multiple hives from the winged insects commonly known as "killer bees."

While fatal bee attacks are rare, the recent incident is unusual but expected at the same since when the bus struck the hives it triggered the disruptive and aggressive behavior of the bees.

Africanized Bees

Africanized honey bees are aggressive and very dangerous, since their entire hive might attack a person or other animals it considers as a threat. The bees are also constantly guarding possible threats and even a shirt's color or cologne scent can pose as a threat, according to Fox News.

Africanized bees are notorious in the Americas due to their reputation of having an aggressive behavior.

Prevalent only in North America, Central America, and South America, the said bee species is a result of a human-bred subspecies, conducted by scientists in Brazil with the aim of increasing honey production in warmer climates such as Brazil, the Natural History Museum reported.

The killer bees can be genetically traced back to two original bee species: the European honeybees and the African honeybees as a result of the work of Brazilian geneticist Dr. Warwick Kerr in 1956.

Since then, the bees have spread their population to Central America and to the United States.