bees whacked

[erial]

from channel 5 in Phoenix

Hiker Falls 200 Feet After Bee Attack

POSTED: 7:15 am MST May 20, 2008
UPDATED: 7:49 am MST May 20, 2008


PHOENIX -- A hiker who went off a South Mountain trail Monday was attacked by a swarm of bees before falling 200 feet into a ravine, Phoenix firefighters said.

The man, who is in his early 30s, was hiking alone around 5:30 p.m. when he left the trail to hike up a gully and was ambushed by hundreds of bees.

"He was waving his shirt and then he was actually just full of bees," said hiker Ken MacKenzie, who witnessed the incident.

When the hiker tried to escape the bees, he fell.

"He probably fell about 200 feet off of that trail and down into a ravine. He was all broken bones and cut up and tangled up in cholla cactus," said Capt. Lewis Jones of the Phoenix Fire Technical Team.

Phoenix police Officer Craig Churella was the first responder. He tried to reach the hiker but was forced to retreat.

"He was absolutely covered in bees. It was quite the sight. I couldn't get any closer -- they started attacking me," Churella said.

Jones' technical team donned special suits to perform the lengthy rescue.

"It was difficult just because, mainly because of the terrain. And then to compound the problem is we had to put on these hot bee suits," Jones said.

Temperatures Monday broke records, reaching 110 degrees in Phoenix.

The rescuers started an IV on the hiker before hooking him to a rescue helicopter and hoisting him off the mountain. He was taken to a local hospital and is expected to be OK.

MacKenzie said he's seen mountain lions, wolves and coyotes in the wild, but "nothing like a swarm of bees around, in particular, one person."

Capt. Victor Rangel said firefighters haven't seen an increase in bee attacks, but are often called out to rescue people who were unprepared to hike up a mountain. Rangel said the best thing to bring on a hike is a cell phone.

[tanya]

How awful.

[stefan]

[sparker1]

I guess bells and pepper spray don't work for bees. Terrible experience, amazed he survived.

[DiscGo]

That sucks!

[goofball]

scary !

when we were in the superstitions in march we heard a faint buzz grow steadily louder till we knew it wasn't an aircraft of some sort. what the hell do you do to defend against bees ?!? we just sat still, mouths closed and eyes big as buffet platters until it passed. i have really never been so scared of a creature encounter in all my life.

[Win]

I'm trying to visualize what was happening and it's not pretty. One of the worst stories I've read.

Back in NJ I witnessed a large swarm of bees come down an urban street and land on a very large branch of a tree. Moments later the branch broke off, crashed to the ground and the bees continued on. They had to weigh hundreds of pounds as a mass.

Win