Pandemonium hit the village of Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) in the afternoon on Monday September 19 after a swarm of Africanised (killer) Bees launched an attack on residents in the area, resulting in the death of one.
Sheikh Imran Hassan, 48, succumbed at the Balwant Singh Hospital, East Street, Georgetown, late afternoon. He had been stung numerous times about his body while at his residence.
At the hospital, the Hassan family was still trying to come to grips with what transpired, while other residents who were stung needed medical attention.
Arshaad Hassan, the man’s eldest son, said that he has been living at Lot 238 Anaida Avenue, Eccles, for his entire life and never saw any of the Africanised Bees around his home prior to this incident.
He explained that his father, a mechanic by occupation, and other family members were attacked by the bees around 13:30 hrs while he was at work.
Six other residents were stung moments after the bees began to attack and they received assistance and treatment from other persons in the neighbourhood.
One of Hassan’s relative stated that the hive of bees was situated in their neighbour’s house.
“The nest is in our neighbour ceiling; Tony Amres house, the GEB security people. The house lock up and they gone. We sought assistance when this thing was happening from; we sought the NDC, police station, agriculture, fire station, all over and no one helped”, said the relative.
Fizal Shawl, the victim’s brother-inlaw, who was at the scene at the time of the incident stated that Hassan and another brother were repairing a car on his (Shawl’s) bridge when a swarm of bees attacked the two.
The victim’s brother managed to jump in a drum of water while the deceased put a bucket on his head but since the bees were too numerous he fell and was covered in black (bees). The victim’s sons, his brother and other close relatives made numerous efforts to save his life but all were futile.
According to his brother, from the time the bees attacked Hassan, contacts were made to many government places for help to eradicate the bees but to no avail.
Calls were also made to West Ruimveldt Fire Station but the response was “We gotta get permission”.
The NDC responded to the calls with “How much you’ll pay?”
While the deceased was being attacked, frustrated relatives also made contact with the Ministry of Agriculture but that department was only able to give the family different phone numbers to contact the eradicator.
At the home of Hassan at 17:00hrs, there was chaos because the bees were still living in the ceiling of a house next door, at 239 Anaida Avenue.
At the time of the incident a woman was said to be living in the house but immediately fled after she realized that the bees were inside the house.
According to Joan Hassan, the victim’s sister-in-law, she was stung in the head while trying to assist, while other neighbours locked their doors and were peeping through their windows to see the outcome since there wasn’t much anyone could do.
The victim’s sister-in-law explained that after her brother-in-law passed away, a bee catcher came to the scene.
“When he came and was directed to the house the bee catcher said there isn’t anything he can do now and demanded taxi fare from our family.” Hassan leaves to mourn his three sons and wife, Sabetri.
According to a report the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) received a report from a resident of Lot 199 Anira Avenue, Eccles, at approximately 14:00 hrs. That report stated that a resident of Eccles was being attacked by a swarm of bees.
The GLDA states that it immediately contacted Mr. Carl Persaud, a private bee keeper/exterminator who responded to the scene at 14:30 hrs to investigate the report and take necessary action.
Singh arrived on the scene and found that the bees were in an occupied building. He then exterminated the bee colony and rescued two dogs.
“It is also believed that there are other colonies of bees within the area based upon the number of bees that were exterminated. The GLDA is advising that the bees are hostile and should be reported immediately to GLDA at 220-6557”, the release went on to say.
Meanwhile, the GLDA said that it regretted the loss of life and sympathised with the other persons who were stung in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment