Woman, 71, stung 1,000 times by swarm of 75,000 bees

A 71-year-old woman in Palm Desert is recovering after being stung by a swarm of 75,000 Africanized honey bees, officials said.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Williams told the Press-Enterprise that the woman suffered more than 1,000 bee stings in the attack Thursday. She was hospitalized but is expected to recover, officials said.

“She was covered as if she had on a bee suit, and we threw her in back of ambulance, where our guys sustained bee stings,” Williams told KESQ-TV.

Officials said the bees flew out of a Verizon telephone vault that a worker had opened. The woman was nearby, they said.

A beekeeper was brought in and the bees were removed and sent to farmers for crop pollination, authorities said.