Worker dies after swarming bees attack crew at Southern California construction site

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A worker died Monday after being stung by bees that swarmed a Southern California construction site after a contractor grading a parking lot struck an underground hive, a fire chief said.

Chaos broke out as the bees swarmed, workers said. Some workers panicked and bolted, while at least two men rolled on the ground covering their faces with their hands. A third man swatted at the bees with a vest.

“There were bees all over them. Hundreds of them,” Tomace Marquez told the Press-Enterprise (http://bit.ly/1g2zTo9).

Three men were stung and one died after an allergic reaction, Riverside Battalion Chief Tony Perna said.

“It was insane,” worker David Wolf told CBSLA.com (http://cbsloc.al/1KMG7pE). “It all happened pretty quick, really. They just kept splitting up and chasing all the other workers.”

Marquez hosed down the men using a water tank and the stinging stopped.

The deceased worker was not immediately identified.