The officials said that the incident took place between 12.30 pm and 1 pm when a large number of tourists were visiting the historic military fort located on a hill. At least 200 tourists, who were visiting the historic Shivneri Fort located in Junnar taluka of Pune district, were stung by bees on Sunday afternoon, the state forest department officials said. At least 25 of them required medical assistance and were discharged after primary treatment at a local government hospital, added the officials.
The officials said that the incident took place between 12.30 pm and 1 pm when a large number of tourists were visiting the historic military fort located on a hill, which is birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The fort is located around 95 km from Pune city and the premises are administered by the forest department.
An official from Pune forest department said, “Primary probe suggests swarms of bees from at least three beehives located near the main entrance of the fort were galvanised. It can happen when someone hurls something at them or because of a combination of strong artificial smells emanating from human activity. The bees stung around 200 tourists. Around 25 of suffered from multiple stings.”
“Because the swarm covered a large area within moments, there was panic among people. Teams from local police and forest department personnel reached the spot and rushed the people who had suffered multiple stings to hospital,” added the official.
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