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.