Three Berbice residents were killed in separate bee attacks on Thursday and yesterday.
Dead are Sirpaul Hemraj, a ranger and former Chairman of the Black Bush Water Users Association, 61, of Lot 95 Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder, Dorothy Adams, a housewife, 58, of Rotterdam Village, East Bank Berbice, and John Sutherland, a farmer, 57, of Eversham Village, Corentyne.
Hemraj’s wife, Savitri Hemraj, told Stabroek News that she was inform-ed just around 1.30 pm that her husband and some others were attacked by a swarm of bees yesterday.
The incident reportedly occurred somewhere in the frontlands of Johanna, Black Bush Polder.
Stabroek News was told that Hemraj and two other rangers were present to check on an excavator operator when they were attacked by the bees.
However, while the other men were able to hide in an area, Hemraj was not.
The three rangers and excavator operator were rushed to the Mibicuri Hospital, where Hemraj was pronounced dead on arrival, while two of the others were kept for observation and the other was treated and discharged.
Meanwhile, Adams was returning home from a nearby shop on Thursday when she was attacked by a swarm of Africanised bees, which left her dead just around 4 pm
Her neighbor, Stevon Ghanpat, who witnessed the attack, recounted: “We see the bee coming from that old house over there and the guy who does live there run out of the house and then I heard people start screaming and the animal on the road start running.”
Adams, who was only a couple houses away from her home, was then attack-ed. “If you see them bees on this woman, you can’t see she face, she head, nothing. From she waist go up, you can’t see nothing,” he recalled.
Ghanpat noted that the now deceased woman was screaming for help but persons were all afraid to venture out.
However, he said, after she continued screaming he decided to head out with some gasoline and water, which he threw on her in an attempt to rescue her. “Some a them bite me and she husband and another neighbour too.”
The woman’s husband, Vishnu Persaud, had to be rushed to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital along with his wife after the attack.
The woman was pronounced dead on arrival while the man was admitted for observation.
Also on Thursday, Sutherland died after he was also attacked by a swarm of Africanised bees in the backlands of Eversham.
Stabroek News was told that Sutherland left home on a tractor with several others for the Eversham backlands so as to show them the rice field which he had to plough.
However, just after midday while ploughing the field the tractor operator raised an alarm, causing all of them to run.
Sutherland, who had one leg and used a crutch to move about, was not able to escape.
One of the workers said that they hid as they saw Sutherland falling to the ground while being stung.
Another worker was also stung during the attack.
The men then waited for a while after which they brought out Sutherland’s body.
He was taken to the Skeldon Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
