According to the latest reports, a team of 20 mountaineers from Taipei City and New Taipei City encountered a swarm of tiger bees on the Bafenliao Trail in Ruifang District, New Taipei City. The sudden disaster caused 11 people to be stung by tiger bees, two of whom died because they were too injured to maintain breathing and heartbeat. In addition, 4 brave firefighters were also stung by tiger bees during the rescue process.
It is understood that after the mountaineering team began their journey in the morning, they walked for more than an hour and suddenly encountered a fierce attack by hundreds of tiger bees. The team members who were stung by the bees immediately ran around, but because there was no place to hide around, many still could not escape the attack of the swarm.
After receiving the alarm, the New Taipei City Fire Department immediately sent 20 fire trucks and 51 firefighters to the scene for rescue. They arrived at the scene at around 12:20 p.m. and found many injured people groaning in pain on the ground. They quickly took the injured to a medical facility down the mountain for treatment, and sent some people with only minor injuries to the hospital for further treatment. However, during the rescue, 4 firefighters were also stung by bees. Fortunately, these firefighters were treated in a timely manner and did not have serious problems.
Among the injured climbing team members, Mr. Jiao, 69, and Mr. Hu, 66, were the most seriously injured. They were blackened and in excruciating pain, and needed to be carried down the mountain on a stretcher. Ambulance crews injected the wounded with epinephrine, initially managed their symptoms of shock, and established intravenous fluids to replenish body fluids. However, during the transportation down the mountain, the two wounded suddenly lost their breathing and heartbeat, and although medical staff rushed them to the hospital for rescue, they were unable to save their lives.
Yang Shufang, director of the New Taipei City Animal Protection Department, said that there were at least 100 tiger bees at the scene. Due to the dense mountain forest and the presence of a variety of tree species on the site, this may have attracted the tiger bee colony. Coupled with the presence of water, the tiger bee was foraging in the trees at the time, and was disturbed before scattering to attack the tourists, which led to this tragedy.
The Animal Protection Department urges all climbers to avoid the use of perfumes, cosmetics and other strong-smelling items to reduce the possibility of attracting tiger bees. They also advise climbers to stay on the trail as much as possible and not to leave the trail and enter the forest or trail to avoid disturbing Steller bees and other wildlife. In addition, climbers are reminded to be aware of their surroundings, especially when moving in the mountains, to be vigilant and avoid conflicts with wildlife.
The tiger bee attack is a wake-up call for mountaineers to be vigilant during outdoor activities. I hope that everyone can take this as a warning, strengthen their safety awareness, and ensure the safety of themselves and their peers. At the same time, it also calls on relevant departments to strengthen the management and protection of mountaineering areas, and provide more safety facilities and warning signs to reduce the occurrence of similar incidents.