Woman, 87, amongst victims of Pomona bee attack

Sep 16, 2017 News

Scores of Pomona residents on the Essequibo Coast rushed to the main road last Thursday as a swarm of bees blanketed the eastern side of the Pomona Public road.

Bee attack victim: Sadhai, 87 and D&I worker, Mohendra Seemangal

Residents living on the eastern side were reportedly forced into hiding during the attack. The attack now leaves an 87-year-old woman hospitalized, along with a Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) excavator operator.
The pensioner who was identified as Sadhai, also known as Pinky, is believed to have suffered more than 50 stings from a swarm of Africanised bees which gathered over her home last Thursday.
According to information, the pensioner was in her Pomona home at the time of the incident. The senior citizen, who is visually impaired, said that “the attack commenced about 10:00 hrs last Thursday. (She) felt a swarm of bees sweep through her home.” The bees made their way under her covers as she tried to protect herself.”
As the pensioner’s immediate neighbour explained, the attack came suddenly.
“We heard the noise from the bees, and then when I watch out, we hear somebody start yell and say, ‘Lock up all the windows and the door.’ By the time we watch out we already saw the whole swarm surrounding the lady house. The most we could have done was stay inside and protect ourselves because the whole place had bees.”
Sadhai’s only hope at that time was her son, who performed an act of heroism. He rushed into the bee infested home and rescued his mother.
As the bees swarmed over the neighborhood, residents reportedly hid themselves indoors under mosquito nets, others hid under the running shower in bathrooms to protect themselves. It is alleged that the beehive was disturbed as a D&I worker was operating an excavator in the nearby vicinity.
Sources claim that the vibration from the machine triggered the disturbance. The D&I operator, Mohendra Seemangal, is believed to have been the first victim of the bees’ ferocious attack.
Mohendra explained that at the time of the attack he was operating on an irrigation channel near the beehive.
“I saw two bees fly in the excavator cabin and I tried to close the door. But then I noticed them coming in more, so I tried to escape. As I run out, more bees start to swarm on me—like over a hundred or so. So I run in the neighbour shower and I tried to wash them off and I was in there (for) like half hour until the area clear off lil.”
After the attack calmed, residents came out of hiding, only to count their losses. Reports indicated that some residents lost their chickens, ducks, sheep and goats. The hive was reportedly burnt yesterday following the attack.

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