Africanized bees attack teens

Jan 31, 2013 News

Two teenagers were yesterday attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees which has been living in their unoccupied Lot 499 Section ‘A’ South Sophia home for the past seven years.

The teens’ mother at the hospital yesterday.

The teens, Shawn Gonsalves, 17, and 15-year-old John Gonsalves, were rushed to the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) just after 17:30 hours yesterday for medical assistance. Their injury is not life threatening.
According to reports, the two teens and a friend had dropped two of their younger siblings at a training programme in the community and had left to go in Sophia to check on their property which is frequently vandalized.
The teen’s mother, Paulette Simon Gonsalves, who currently lives at D’Urban Street, said that she and her late husband once occupied the Sophia property which belongs to a relative of her husband but moved several years back.
“Nobody is living at that property and last year I was served a notice to move (from D’Urban Street) so I was going to move back there but because of the bees I didn’t moved as yet,” the upset mother said, adding that she visited the Ministry of Agriculture to seek assistance to remove the bees but her visit there was fruitless.
“I went and I tell the guard what happen and she gave me two numbers, a landline and a cell number and when I called a man answer and say I have to pay $7,000 to $15,000 to remove the bees but I cannot afford that kind of money,” Simon said.
The mother recalled that she was at home yesterday when a neighbour informed her that bees had attacked her sons. “I took a taxi and I went there and when I reach I saw them (two sons) folding up sitting by a neighbour so I carried them to the hospital.”
Kaieteur News was told that the three teenagers were sitting on the step when the bees attacked them. The two brothers ran and jumped in a nearby trench for cover while their friend managed to escape.
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