Twenty four persons, including 17 students, were attacked by honeybees in separate incidents in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district on Thursday.
In the first incident, 17 students of the Government Higher Primary School were stung after a beehive was attacked by a bird at Kambadakone village in Kundapur taluk.
The students were playing in the school verandah between 8.30 a.m. and 8.45 a.m., when the bird attacked the beehive on a coconut tree in a neighbouring private property.
As many as 17 children were stung by the bees.
Teachers and parents called an ambulance and took the children to the Government Hospital in Kundapur.
“We did not want to take any chances and rushed them to the hospital in Kundapur,” said Naga Devadiga, who teachers at the school. As many as 15 children were discharged. They are Subhash (12), Shashikala (13), Harshit (10), Sushanth (13), Sujan (8), Adarsh (9), Harsha (12), Raghavendra (12), Preethesh (13), Shashank (11), Manikanta (13), Amritha (13), Ananya (13), Prajvitha (7) and Anjali (10).
“Only two students, Ankush (12) and Veekshita (9), are still receiving treatment at the hospital. Besides, one is suffering from an infection and another has stomach ache. Hence, the doctors advised that they should remain in the hospital,” Mr. Devadiga said.
As the children panicked after the attack, a holiday was declared for the school.
The Department of Public Instruction had urged the Department of Forests, to remove the beehive. “The Forest Department officials have said they would do it immediately,” Diwaker Shetty, Deputy Director of Public Instruction, said.
In another incident, Mahendra, Lakshmi, Poornima, Sharada, Lakshmi Billava, Jayalakshmi, and Prabhakar Billava were attacked when a beehive got disturbed at Balkur village in Kundapur taluk.
Mahendra was on his way to pay the water bill when he was attacked by the bees.
To escape from them, he jumped into a tank in front of the panchayat office.
The bees then entered a library at the panchayat office and stung Lakshmi, Sharada, Lakshmi Billava, Poornima and Jayalakshmi.
Prabhakar Billava, who came to save them, also got stung by the bees.
They were taken to a private hospital in Kundapur for treatment.
