Latest news with #Aurillac
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Massive bee swarm sends three people to hospital in critical condition, 24 injured
A buzzing commotion has disrupted a picturesque town this summer. A swarm of bees left 24 people injured in an unusual attack on Sunday, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Those walking through Aurillac, a quaint French community, were stung over a 30-minute period, with three people in critical condition evacuated to a hospital. Some 26,000 people were living in the alp town in 2022, according to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. Aurillack is located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Pierre Mathonier, mayor of Aurillac, told a local broadcaster that those who were left in critical condition are improving, AP reported. One victim was a 78-year-old who suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and had to be resuscitated. That individual is now in stable condition, while the other two are said to be in "good health," per the mayor. Mathonier added the attack could have been related to the bees becoming more aggressive over the years. Over a decade ago, Asian hornets were harassing a beehive that was on the roof terrace of a downtown hotel, he told AP. Lt. Col. Michel Cayla, who runs the local fire services, said the attack was "impressive" and he has never seen an attack of this scale. Cayla told French broadcaster TF1, "In terms of the number of victims, the panic among the people and the severity of some of the injuries, it was impressive," as AP reported. Bee sting symptoms are mostly "minor." Victims can experience instant, sharp, burning pain, as well as a welt and swelling, according to the Mayo Clinic. The CDC predicted an annual average of 62 deaths due to bee and hornet stings between 2000-2017 in the United States. The beehive has been removed and relocated outside the town, according to AP.
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Telegraph
Bees attack French town, leaving dozens injured
A swarm of bees attacked a French town on Sunday, leaving dozens of people injured and three in a critical condition in hospital. In an incident lasting around 30 minutes, 24 people were stung in the centre of Aurillac, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, authorities said. A 78-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest after being stung 25 times. He was later revived and is now in a stable condition. Emergency services, including police, medical teams and firefighters, rushed to the scene to treat the injured and cordon off the area. One mother said she was returning home with her three-year-old daughter when she heard shouting and panic. She was stung four times in the neck while trying to flee. 'There were a lot of bees, there were old people on the ground. It's the first time I've seen that,' she told French radio station RMC. An 80-year-old woman, who lives by the square where the attack happened, described the chaos. 'I saw two young women and a couple shaking each other. I saw a young woman in her bra and panties, she didn't know how to handle this problem,' she told France Info. 'I got the impression they were being assaulted by something but I didn't know what.' The bees reportedly appeared from a rooftop apiary on the terrace of the Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux, near Place du Square. Pierre Mathonier, the town's mayor, said: 'One theory seems to hold water… Asian hornets must have threatened the hive, which provoked the bees' aggression. These aggressive bees spread to Avenue de la République and attacked passers-by.' However, some experts cast doubt on that theory. Mickaël Henry, the director of the bees and environment research team, told the Libération newspaper: 'When faced with a hornet, bees generally tend to stop going out and protect the entrance of the hive.' Walid Loulidi, a master beekeeper at the Paris School of Beekeeping, gave another possible explanation. He said that breeding black bees with other species – a strategy used to increase honey production – could result in changes in behaviour over time. The rooftop apiary has been moved since the incident, and Mr Mathonier said he was considering banning them in the town. The Aurillac prosecutor's office said it was requesting the destruction of the 70,000 bees in the area.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- BBC News
Bee attack leaves three in critical condition and dozens injured in Aurillac, France
Three people in a French town remain in a "critical but stable condition" following an unusual bee attack at the weekend which left 24 passersby injured, the mayor of Aurillac said on people were hurt and three were rushed to hospital in critical condition when hundreds of bees suddenly attacked people in the central-southern town on Sunday to local media, one of them was a 78-year-old woman who was stung 25 times and had to be resuscitated after a cardiorespiratory arrest. Police and firefighters fenced off the area and a beekeeper was called in to smoke out the bees - a safe way to calm the insects. A local man called Andrée said he witnessed "very panicked people" trying to bat off the bees. "I could tell they were being attacked by something but I couldn't figure out what," he told French mayor of Aurillac, Pierre Mathonier, was reported as saying that Asian hornets threatening a beehive may have been the catalyst for the Christian Carrier, the president of the regional beekeepers' union, was sceptical. He told France Info that bees generally avoid leaving their colonies altogether in the presence of Asian he said that the unusual incident may have been due to the bee colony becoming too large for its beehive and becoming "overactive" when the beekeeper handled it."It may be that [the bees] didn't have enough space and that their colony had no intention of swarming. This can trigger strong aggression," Mr Carrier said.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- The Guardian
Bee attack leaves dozens of people injured in French town
A unusual attack by bees in the French town of Aurillac has left 24 people injured, including three who were in critical condition but have since improved, according to local authorities. Passersby were stung over a period of about 30 minutes on Sunday morning, according to the prefecture of Cantal, in south-central France. Firefighters and medical teams treated the victims, while police set up a security perimeter until the bees stopped their attack. The three people in critical condition were evacuated to a local hospital. Pierre Mathonier, the mayor of Aurillac, told BFM TV on Monday that their condition had improved. One of them was a 78-year-old person who had to be resuscitated after a cardiorespiratory arrest, he said. The mayor said the incident may have been related to Asian hornets threatening a beehive that was installed on the roof terrace of a hotel more than a decade ago, and had caused the bees to become aggressive. Mathonier said the beekeeper had removed the beehive and relocated it outside of the town. Lt Col Michel Cayla, in charge of the local fire services, said he had never experienced such an attack. 'In terms of the number of victims, the panic among the people and the severity of some of the injuries, it was striking,' he told broadcaster TF1.
Associated Press
07-07-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Bees attack French town, leaving 24 injured
AURILLAC, France (AP) — A unusual attack by bees in the French town of Aurillac has left 24 people injured, including three who were in critical condition but have since improved, according to local authorities. Passersby were stung over a period of about 30 minutes on Sunday morning, according to the Prefecture of Cantal, in south-central France. Firefighters and medical teams were rushed to the scene to treat the victims, while police set up a security perimeter until the bees stopped their attack. The three people in critical condition were evacuated to a local hospital. Pierre Mathonier, the mayor of Aurillac, told French broadcaster BFM TV on Monday that their condition has improved. One of them was a 78-year-old person who had to be resuscitated after cardiorespiratory arrest and is now in stable condition, he said. The two others 'are in good health,' he added. According to the mayor, the incident may have been related to Asian hornets threatening a beehive that had been installed on the roof terrace of a downtown hotel more than a decade ago. He said that this had likely caused the bees to become aggressive. Mathonier said that the beekeeper has removed the beehive and relocated it outside of the town. Lt. Col. Michel Cayla, in charge of the local fire services, said that he had never experienced such an attack. He said the victim who was in cardiorespiratory arrest had to be resuscitated in the fire department's ambulance. 'In terms of the number of victims, the panic among the people and the severity of some of the injuries, it was impressive,' he told broadcaster TF1.
