- Three women and three firefighters were hospitalized Saturday after bee attack
- Authorities said two women were completely covered in bees outside the store
- Firefighters sprayed beehive with expanding foam until a beekeeper arrived
- Officials said beehive was disturbed, causing the swarm, but it’s unclear how
Six people were hospitalized on Saturday after they were stung by a swarm of bees outside a grocery store in California.
The Monterey Park Fire Department said the beehive was hanging in a tree in the parking lot of a Ralphs grocery store when it was disturbed around 4.52pm.
Officials said the disturbance led to the bees attacking several people, including two women who were completely covered in bees, according to KTLA.
Six people were hospitalized on Saturday after they were stung by a swarm of bees outside a grocery store in California. Firefighters sprayed the beehive with expanding foam (seen on the ground above) to keep the bees inside until a bee keeper arrived
Firefighters (pictured) said the bees attacked several people, including two women who were completely covered in bees. Monterey Park Fire Chief Mark Khail said a third woman was stung, but managed to get away and run into the store
Monterey Park Fire Chief Mark Khail said a third woman was stung, but managed to get away and run into the store.
Firefighters were also stung by the bees upon arrival as they tried to help the three women.
Three pedestrians and three firefighters were taken to local hospitals.
The firefighters were later released and the conditions of the other patients is unknown at this time.
Authorities said the hive was about 50 yards away from the store.
It was sprayed with expanding foam to keep the bees inside until a bee keeper arrived.
Firefighters were also stung by the bees (dead bees) upon arrival as they tried to help the three women. Three pedestrians and three firefighters were taken to local hospitals
The Monterey Park Fire Department said the beehive was hanging in a tree in the parking lot of a Ralphs grocery store (pictured) when it was disturbed around 4.52pm
One witness told the station that he was almost stung while passing by the parking lot on his bike.
‘When I got here there was a bee around my head so I started riding faster,’ said Michael Hsu.
‘They were still around me so I parked my bike over there and ran into the food truck. I saw a lot of people with bees around them,’ he added.
Authorities said it’s still unclear what caused the disturbance of the beehive.