E-Paper
11 injured in bee attack at Sinhagad Fort, fourth such case at state’s tourist sites
This is the fourth time swarms of bees have attacked visitors at the state’s tourist sites since March
PUNE Over 25 tourists were stung by a swarm of bees at Sinhghad fort, the official said on Sunday. Of these, 11 are injured.
“Eight people are receiving treatment at Shreeyash hospital, Khed Shivapur and are stable. Two tourists are being operated on at Silver Birch hospital, Dhayari out of them one is stable and other is still unconscious,” said Abhinav Deshmukh, Pune rural superintendent of police (SP).
The tourists were attacked by bees near Kalyan Darwaza area at Sinhagad Fort. Five of them fell unconscious on the spot. Local forest department personnel and security guards from the forest protection committee rushed to the spot and called an ambulance to take the injured to the hospital, said officials.
Ayush Prasad, CEO, Zilla Parishad said, “Pune Zilla Parishad, 108 control room received a call from Amol Padher (Sarpanch) at 2.10 pm informing about honey bee attack at t Sinhagad Fort. Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service (MEMS) served 11 patients. Two were treated at the spot.”
As per information received by forest officials, there are around nine huge bee hives in the Kalyan Darwaza of Sinhagad Fort. A branch of a tree which had a beehive on it fell on the ground due to which bees dispersed all over. Security guards tried to rescue tourists by covering them with blankets and using fire smoke to distract bees.
This is the fourth time swarms of bees have attacked visitors at the state’s tourist sites since March.
“This is fourth bee attack at forts in this year. Two happened in Junnar, one happened at Bhor and now Sinhagad Fort. Whenever tourists are going to eco-sensitive hotspots, they must respect local ecologies and all flora and fauna. Do not touch or disturb any animals or plant species,” added Prasad.
