Swarm of bees sting man to death while he was moving potting soil from porch

21 September 2023 , 02:26

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A number of people are heavily injured by bees every year when they unsuspectingly disturb hidden hives (Image: Photothek via Getty Images)

A 59-year-old man was simply moving a bag of potting soil off of his porch when suddenly a swarm of bees came out of the bag and began attacking him, eventually stinging him to death.

Family members discovered him covered in stings in front of the home and quickly called paramedics and began administering CPR. Even though EMTs arrived quickly, their attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead after being brought to the local hospital.

The Harlan County Coroner’s Office said Monday night that the incident happened in the southeastern corner of the state. "Deputy Coroner [John] Jones stated the male subject was moving an old bag of potting soil from his porch when he was stung by a swarm of bees from inside the bag," it said in a statement.

A swarm of bees can be deadly when startled (Getty Images/imageBROKER RF)

"The immediate family has been notified, but the Coroner's office out of respect will withhold the name until all family can be reached," it added. "The investigation still continues by Deputy Coroner Jones and our heartfelt prayers go out to the entire family and friends."

Just two months ago, another person was attacked by bees. An 81-year-old man was left in agony with a broken hip after he was attacked by over 200 "killer bees" for three hours. Carlos Amos, from Maysville, US, was mowing the garden at his home when a vicious swarm of Africanised bees charged at him - leaving the pensioner with painful stings all across his body.

Couple survive swarm of 10,000 bees - but left with stings all over their bodies

The bees were stuck in his ear, flew up his nose, and even went in his eye during the three-hour attack. He was also left in a tremendous amount of pain after he fell over and broke his hip while trying to escape the bees. Fortunately, a group of men came to his rescue and tried to fend off the bees.

Family members discovered the man covered in stings from the bees (stock) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One neighbour immediately called 911 and Carlos was rushed to Norman Regional Hospital for urgent treatment. According to one doctor who treated him, he was lucky to be alive as the stings can lead to life-threating swelling which can block the airways. Carlos told local television station KOCO 5 News : "I took a tissue out, stuck it in this ear, and more of them got in this ear, so I got those out then when I put tissues in there, and then they were in my nose.

"I was there about three hours, but a fella from Burford Company showed up, and the first thing I did was I asked him what’s your name, and he said, "Oh my gosh, they’re stinging me now."'

Medics said Carlos was lucky his airways did not start to close from the attack as the consequences could have been fatal. Savannah Phillips, a doctor at Norman Regional emergency room, revealed: "You can have so much swelling that your airway starts to close that you’re not able to breathe on your own.

Yelena Mandenberg