Friday, around 250 million bees escaped from a truck reversed in the American state of Washington, arousing warnings from the authorities so that the public avoids spicy insects.
Emergency officials were helped by several masters after the truck, which had transported around 70,000 lb (31,750 kg) of active honey bee hives, turned on a road near the Canadian border.
“The objective is to save as many bees as possible,” said the Sheriff’s Bureau of WhatCom’s county (WCSO) shortly after the incident.
The authorities said that the accident site would remain closed “until the rescue is finished”.
“250 million bees are now cowardly,” wrote the Sheriff of the county of WhatCom. “Avoid the area due to the potential of bee exhaust and swarming”.
The bees worked with the police “to help reintegrate the hives of the box”, the bees containers use to host the bees.
“The plan is to allow bees to rewrite and find their queen bees,” said WCSO, adding: “This should happen within 24 to 48 hours.”
In an update published on social networks later Friday, the police thanked “the wonderful bee community”, saying that “more than two dozen” had presented themselves to help the rescue efforts.
“In the morning, most bees should have returned to their hives,” WCSO wrote on Facebook.
Images shared by the police have shown a large number of bees teeming around the overturned truck.
While some bees only aim to produce honey, many others praise their hives to farmers who need insects to pollinate their cultures.
