Three Florida men reportedly attempting to steal honey from a huge wild beehive on Easter morning were attacked by a swarm of bees, leaving them hospitalized with at least 50 stings each after firefighters came to their rescue.
Fire crews from Pasco County were called to a residence at 7805 Calabash in New Port Richey at 11:26 a.m. to find three men covered with bee stings, along with a woman who left her home to investigate, according to
WTSP-TV. The woman received only about a dozen stings,
reported WTVT-TV.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office told WTSP-TV that it believed that the bee attack was sparked by the men attempting the steal honey from the hive.
"They were covered in bees, their beards, their hair, their clothes – bees were everywhere," said one neighbor, Tom Johnson.
Firefighters used water hoses to drench the four in an attempt to get the bees off them, Pasco County Police information officer Doug Tobin told
ABC Digital. The three men were taken to the Medical Center of Trinity for treatment.
Tobin said the wild hive may have contained as many as 20,000 to 30,000 bees. He said he was not sure how many attacked the three men and the woman.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office told WTVT-TV it was making arrangements for removing the beehive.
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