Thread: AZ: Bees attack immigrants, Border Patrol agents

Bees attack immigrants, Border Patrol agents

By Gentry Braswell/WICK NEWS SERVICE

Sep 15, 2007

SIERRA VISTA - Several U.S. Border Patrol agents and illegal immigrants were stung by bees Friday morning, and one agent and three illegals suffered fall injuries as well as stings when running from the bee swarm in the Coronado Pass area of the Huachuca Mountains, according to county authorities.

A group of about 32 illegal immigrants and three Border Patrol agents ran from a bee swarm near U.S. Forest Service Road 61, off Coronado Monument Road on the backside of the Huachuca Mountains, Fry Fire District Chief Bill Miller said.

Authorities and rescue personnel responded about 10:30 a.m.

In general, the rule for escaping an angry swarm of bees is to run directly away from them in a straight line, because after going past a particular distance from their hive they won't chase you anymore, Miller said.

The Border Patrol agents and the group of illegal immigrants suddenly found themselves to have a mutual and emergent situation involving the attacking bees, Miller said.

"I think they all fell when they were running from the bees," Miller said. Advertisement

All three agents were apparently stung, and many of the illegal immigrants, but only one of the agents and three of the illegal immigrants were injured seriously enough to merit medical transport.

One of the illegal immigrants was injured seriously enough to call for a medical transport helicopter. She had gone into anaphylactic shock because of the bee stings, and was flown to a Tucson hospital in serious condition, Miller said.

A reported fourth, more serious injury involving an elderly illegal immigrant who had suffered a heart attack, was the subject of a search by an Arizona Department of Public Safety Ranger helicopter, though no heart-attack victim was found, Miller said.

Possibly another 10 illegal immigrants in the group were unaccounted for by Border Patrol, Miller said, presumably having taken the bee swarm opportunity to flee from the Border Patrol.

The Border Patrol agent and the other two illegal border crossers who were significantly injured were taken by ambulance to Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, Miller said. "All of these guys had bee stings and fall injuries," Miller said. "A bunch of other UDAs and other agents were stung, but didn't require transport."

The scene was cleared about 1:25 p.m., Miller said. The original group of northbound border crossers consisted of about 50 people, Miller said.

U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector spokesman Richard DeWitt confirmed the sting injuries involving three illegal border crossers and the agent, that happened as they were all descending the mountain, as well as their subsequent transport to the Sierra Vista hospital.

"An agent called over the radio that he and some illegals were attacked by bees," DeWitt said.

"The agent was in pretty bad shape from the stings," DeWitt said.

The spokesman declined to comment regarding the ongoing condition of the injured.

But the Fry Fire chief said no one's injuries appeared to be life threatening.

Involved in the response were U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Park Service officers, Cochise County Sheriff's Office deputies and Sheriff's Assist Team members, Cochise County Search and Rescue volunteers, Fry Fire District and Palominas Fire Department, as well as LifeNet, Borstar and DPS helicopters.

http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles ... /news4.txt

Bees protect their territory. So should we.

W

And how...

When I was working on my urban tree felling/cutting/splitting/stacking project (28 cedar trees) a couple weeks ago...
I inadvertently threw a big cedar round right smack on top of a nest of yellow jackets (they nest in the ground usually). Evidentally, that really stirred them up. All of a sudden I started feeling little pokes all over the place. I threw everything down, and ran like he$$ away. No real damage done - just 7 stings in all. Thankfully, I am not allergic to bee stings. I'd never been stung by bees in my entire life until then.... Yes, they do defend their turf.

Published: 09.15.2007

Bees attack group of entrants, agents; man's body found
By Brady McCombs
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
News from the border Thursday and Friday:
Bee attack
A Border Patrol agent and three Guatemalan illegal border crossers were taken to Sierra Vista Medical Center at midday Friday after being attacked by bees. The swarm descended on them while they were hiking down a mountainside in the Huachuca Mountains southwest of Sierra Vista.
The incident occurred at about 10:30 a.m. as two agents escorted a group of 32 illegal entrants.
A 39-year-old Guatemalan woman and a male Border Patrol agent were stung between 60 and 100 times, said Richard DeWitt, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.
The woman was taken by helicopter to the hospital after she suffered anaphylactic shock and passed out. The agent also sustained injuries when he fell down while trying to run away from the bees.
Both were released from the hospital in the late afternoon, DeWitt said.
The other two border crossers, a 26-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, had less-serious injuries from the bee stings.
The other crossers suffered minor cuts, bruises and a few stings but didn't need to be taken to a hospital.
Body found near Naco.
On Thursday, U.S. and Mexican officials collaborated to recover the body of an illegal border crosser east of Naco. His family had reported him missing since Aug. 20.
The missing man's cousin, an 18-year-old man from Metepec, Toluca, Mexico, led officials from the Mexican Consulate in Douglas and from Grupo Beta, Mexico's special migrant-protection force, to the spot along the border where they crossed in August, said Oscar de la Torre, the Mexican consul in Douglas.
Thursday afternoon, they called the Border Patrol, which sent agents to meet them at that spot.
The cousin asked the agents to let him lead them to the body and agreed to be apprehended and voluntarily returned to Mexico after they finished, De la Torre said. The agents agreed, and they found the body of Juan Antonio Martinez Venegas, also of Metepec.
After identifying the body, agents took the cousin into custody and processed him for deportation, De la Torre said.
It was the 15th body of an illegal border crosser found in 2007 in Cochise County, compared with 14 in all of 2006.
Marijuana seized near Amado.
On Thursday, agents working near Amado discovered 110 bundles of marijuana weighing 1,019 pounds inside an SUV that had been abandoned, according to a Border Patrol news release.
Agents had tried to stop the SUV after it was spotted heading north from the border, but the driver didn't stop and fled down a dirt road.
An agent and his dog found the abandoned SUV nearby with the bundles inside. They didn't find the driver.
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