A Texas man died last week when he was attacked by a massive swarm of bees when he hit a pipe containing their hive. According to ABC News, the man fled nearly a hundred meters before being overwhelmed.
54 year old Rogerio Zuniga had been operating a tractor in his field when he struck an irrigation pipe. The pipe, contained “15 to 20 feet of honeycomb”, and its inhabitants swarmed and attacked him. It took exterminators hours to contain the hive and neighboring ones after the incident.
Family members saw his stalled tractor and ran to look for him, but by the time they found him through the tall, thick brush, it was too late.
“He had gaping wounds, the bees shredded him basically. It was horrible,” Lisa Zuniga said.
San Benito Fire Department Chief Raul R. Zuniga Jr. noted that the bees in their area have a tendency to be aggressive: “In our area bees have always been a problem, but not to this extent,” Raul said. “I was told the weather has been causing them to swarm and that most colonies are infected with Africanized bees that seem to be more aggressive.”
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