US woman hurt after attack by 80,000 `killer` bees

New York: A 71-year-old woman in the US was badly hurt after she was attacked by a massive swarm of 80,000 `killer` bees which stung her more than 1,000 times. The African bees also turned on five firemen who came to the woman`s rescue, as well as a group of concerned neighbours who were witnessing the scene. The unidentified woman, who was visiting a friend in Palm Desert, California, was stung 1,000 times on Thursday, a fire official said.

She was completely covered with the hybrid insects, `ABC News` reported. The woman was taken in critical condition to a hospital and is expected to survive. The beekeeper who removed the hive from the scene of the incident said the hive contained roughly 80,000 bees. It took two and a half hours to remove the bee hive and relocate it. A Verizon employee had been called out to a residence at Lucerne Drive and Merrill Drive to check on a report of bees in an underground fibre-optic cable box. After lifting the box lid, the employee agitated the bees, the report said.