Warning after 250,000,000 bees escape when lorry crashes

Locals have been warned to ‘avoid the area’ after a lorry overturned and spilled its unusual cargo.

The huge truck was transporting about 70,000lb of beehives near Lynden in Washington State when it overturned on Friday.

Thankfully the truck driver was unhurt, and it’s thought the trailer overturned and rolled into a ditch after the driver miscalculated a tight turn.

Not only were the truck and hives damaged, but an estimated 250million bees managed to escape and are flying free in the area.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office has warned people to stay away ‘due to the potential of bee escape and swarming’.

They also issued a warning to anyone who is allergic to bee stings to seek advice from the state department of health’s website.

Emergency services were called to the scene and were joined by more than two dozen local beekeepers who volunteered to restore the hives and hopefully rescue the bees.

‘The goal is to save as many of the bees as possible,’ the sheriff’s office said, explaining the plan is for the majority of the bees to return to their hives to find their queen in the next couple of days.

The crash site is set to remain closed ‘until the rescue is complete’.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office added on Friday: ‘At this time, on-scene work is done. Hive boxes from the overturned truck were recovered, restored and returned to use.

‘By morning, most bees should have returned to their hives and those responsible for their delivery will be in charge.

‘Until the rescue is complete, and at least into Saturday, Weidkamp Road will remain closed.’

While the huge cargo of bees might seem like unusual cargo, over in the US many beekeepers transport their hives around the country to help pollinate farm crops.

This is because honeybees aren’t native to the US, and numbers are declining quickly, with commercial beekeepers losing on average more than 60% of their colonies last winter.

The US Department of Agriculture says the honeybees pollinate around $15billion (£11.1billion) worth of crops every year.

Meanwhile, some only use their bees to produce honey.

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