Bee attack stings DHPS

A SWARM of bees attacked hundreds of children and parents at the Deutsche Hoehere Privatschule (DHPS) in Windhoek at lunchtime yesterday.

Children were waiting to be fetched after school when the bees attacked everyone within a 100-metre radius of their hives. Two boys are said to have thrown stones at the hives, which made the bees aggressive.”It was horrible! Children were running and crying and there were bees everywhere,” said one parent.”I saw a child lying on the floor and wanted to help but could not because the bees were attacking everyone,” she told The Namibian.Monika Carl (11) was taken to hospital by her mother, who counted about 15 stings on her daughter’s face and neck alone.Monika was given an injection, antihistamine cream and tablets to reduce the swelling.”A mother of another child shouted to her to take off her jacket, which was yellow with bees,” said Monika’s mother.Roland zu Bentheim, a beekeeper from Imkerei Bentheim, was called in to remove the swarm, which he did successfully later yesterday afternoon.Zu Bentheim said he removed about six honeycombs and the queen bee.”Once the queen is removed, the worker bees follow,” he said.”It is very important that people who spot a beehive or a swarm of bees do not throw rocks at them, agitate them in any way, try to poison them or burn them out,” he said.”The bees had no honey but a brood and thus became aggressive, trying to defend and protect their offspring once they were aggravated,” Zu Bentheim said.People in Windhoek can contact him at Tel 22 4985 should they have problems with bees.Johannes Barabas, Administration Manager of DHPS, said yesterday afternoon that the school was still investigating the incident.Because all the children and parents went home after the attack, he could not say how many people were stung.Barabas said the school management knew of 20 people who were taken to hospital, but said that they had all been released.”Four-hundred-and-fifty children leave the school through that specific gate and thus it is not possible to give precise figures at the moment,” he said.Two boys are said to have thrown stones at the hives, which made the bees aggressive.”It was horrible! Children were running and crying and there were bees everywhere,” said one parent. “I saw a child lying on the floor and wanted to help but could not because the bees were attacking everyone,” she told The Namibian.Monika Carl (11) was taken to hospital by her mother, who counted about 15 stings on her daughter’s face and neck alone.Monika was given an injection, antihistamine cream and tablets to reduce the swelling.”A mother of another child shouted to her to take off her jacket, which was yellow with bees,” said Monika’s mother.Roland zu Bentheim, a beekeeper from Imkerei Bentheim, was called in to remove the swarm, which he did successfully later yesterday afternoon.Zu Bentheim said he removed about six honeycombs and the queen bee.”Once the queen is removed, the worker bees follow,” he said.”It is very important that people who spot a beehive or a swarm of bees do not throw rocks at them, agitate them in any way, try to poison them or burn them out,” he said.”The bees had no honey but a brood and thus became aggressive, trying to defend and protect their offspring once they were aggravated,” Zu Bentheim said.People in Windhoek can contact him at Tel 22 4985 should they have problems with bees.Johannes Barabas, Administration Manager of DHPS, said yesterday afternoon that the school was still investigating the incident.Because all the children and parents went home after the attack, he could not say how many people were stung.Barabas said the school management knew of 20 people who were taken to hospital, but said that they had all been released.”Four-hundred-and-fifty children leave the school through that specific gate and thus it is not possible to give precise figures at the moment,” he said.