About 50 young children were stung by bees at a day-care centre in Pretoria on Monday, paramedics said.
Neighbours who tried to help, as well as a paramedic and a police officer, were also stung at the Hansel and Gretel day-care centre shortly after 4pm, said Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman.
The majority of those stung were younger than seven.
Dollman did not know whether the bees had been provoked. ”When we arrived, it was almost absolute chaos,” he said.
He suspected the attack began in the garden, where some of the children had been playing. Their panic then caused the bees to spread indoors, where other children were sleeping.
”A lot of people are allergic and considering so many were stung, it’s quite lucky no one had an allergic reaction.
”Many of the victims were in a state of shock, but all the patients were in a stable condition. Many other people who were stung chose not to go to hospital.”
Forty-eight people were taken to various hospitals in the area.
The only hospital that could confirm admissions was Montana, where two boys of approximately eight years of age and one teacher were kept for observation overnight. — Sapa