An Ohio man is expected to recover after a swarm of about 20,000 bees stung him while cutting tree branches, according to information from his family and first responders.
Austin Bellamy, 20, climbed a lemon tree on Aug. 27 to help a friend trim its branches before he accidentally cut into a bee nest, his mother Shawna Carter posted in an online fundraiser. Carter wrote her son was harnessed in the tree when the attack took place and could not get down.
Ripley Life Squad Paramedic Director Craig Hauke, who responded to the scene, told USA TODAY the incident took place at 11 a.m. at a home in Union Township in Brown County, about 50 miles southeast of Cincinnati.
The Ripley Fire Department, who also responded, told USA TODAY its fire Chief Tony Pfeffer and Capt. Donnie Koewler had to cut the man out of the tree.
“He was just covered in bees,” Carter told WCPO-TV. “Screaming and yelling, crying for help.”
Four other people at the home were injured in the attack and transported by ambulances to area hospitals, Hauke said.
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The fire department said paramedics transported Bellamy by medical helicopter to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. There, his mother said via the online fundraiser, doctors learned that in addition to being stung by thousands of bees, he had also ingested about 30 bees.
On Wednesday night, Bellamy woke from a medically-induced coma at the hospital and was expected to recover, his mother told WCPO-TV.
“It was definitely a team effort by multiple area providers, law enforcement, air medical and the receiving hospital to help save that gentleman,” Hauke said.
His mother reported the fire department told her the bees were African killer bees.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Bellamy family for comment.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Africanized honey bees “are more defensive, stinging more with less provocation than other honey bees.”
A Southwest Ohio Beekeepers Association spokesperson told WCPO-TV, a bee sample would need to be analyzed to identify the species.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.