BEES ATTACK SCHOOL CHILDREN, DAILY GRAPHIC, MON JULY 11, 2011 (PAGE 51)

Story: Della Russel Ocloo

A SWARM of bees attacked six schoolchildren of the Mizpah International School at Tesano Club in Accra last Friday.
The incident occurred about 3:30p.m. when the children from the neighbouring Apenkwa Government School threw stones into the hive harbouring the bees in a house in the vicinity.
Provoked by the action of the children, the bees came out of their hive stinging anyone they came across.
Three of the children who sustained severe bee stings were rushed to the Hobats Clinic for treatment.
They were siblings Michael Nii Odartey Lamptey, 6, and Imagin Naa Korshie Lamptey,5 and their friend, Vanessa Obeng Nyarko.
A taxi driver, Mr Ebenezer Abeiku Sam, who was conveying the children home at the time of the incident, was also treated and discharged from the same hospital for bee stings.
Mr Sam, who was oblivious of the bees invasion, said after picking the children and driving a short distance from the school, the bees, which had taken over the entire stretch, entered his car and this made visibility difficult, a situation which compelled him to pull up.
In the process, the three children, who were sitting at the back of the vehicle, opened the doors and fled to the opposite direction leading to the school, while the bees chased and stung them.
Mr Sam said the three injured children were members of some six children he picked daily from the Mizpah School.
A resident of the area, Mr Daniel Nyarko, who attempted rescuing the children, was attacked by the bees which inflicted wounds on his ears.
The action of the bees was so disturbing, prompting the residents to call for the services of the Ghana National Fire Service.
The firemen, who responded to the distress call, had difficulty controlling the bees because they used ordinary water which proved to be ineffective.
The owner of the house where the hive was located was said to have travelled abroad at the time of the incident.