Honey bee attack in Islamabad's AIOU leaves one dead, five injured

ISLAMABAD: A 45-year-old man died on Thursday after being stung multiple times by a swarm of bees in Islamabad's Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).

Ahmed, a gardener at the campus university, was doing his work when a beehive on a nearby tree fell and a swarm of bees attacked him and five other gardeners.

"A swarm of over a thousand bees attacked Ahmed and other gardeners who were unaware of the location of the hive and barely had time to save themselves," a university spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, the tree from which the hive fell was just outside the campus boundary.

The other gardeners tried to rescue Ahmed, he added, but he had been stung all over his body. When other staffers at the nearby horticulture department heard the gardeners' cries for help, they called Rescue 1122, but Ahmed had died by the time the paramedics arrived.



The body of the deceased, a Hafizabad native, as well as the injured, were shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). The injured were identified as Ghulam Fareed, Amir Nawaz, Waqas Hussain, Tanveer Hussain and Sarfraz Hussain.

The AIOU announced Rs40,000 to cover the cost of Ahmed's funeral and a standing job offer for one of his children after they complete their education.

Meanwhile, the varsity's vice-chancellor visited the victims at the hospital.

In September last year, as many as 60 people were stung by a swarm of bees that attacked a school in Lodhran district of Punjab. While bee attacks are common, death due to such an incident is believed to be rare.