TWO farmers narrowly escaped death on Wednesday when swarms of African bees attacked them and forced them to take a deadly plunge while they were clearing bushes with a tractor at Cozier, on the Essequibo Coast.

One of the men, Carl Roberts, of Bounty Hall, also on the Essequibo Coast, was stung several times about his body, like his cousin, Seebert Polastraj, with whom he was working.
Roberts said while they were operating the tractor, a tall tree broke and fell to the ground near where they were working. The bees’ hive had been on the bark and hundreds of the insects started making a buzzing, fearful and warring sound over their heads.
He said he began to run, not even thinking about his cousin who was driving the vehicle.
Roberts said he suffered several falls as vines on the ground hooked his feet and the insects stung him numerous times on his head but he continued running with the winged attackers in hot pursuit until he plunged into a drainage canal and dived to the bottom.
He said he surfaced several times to get air but the bees waited above and stung him every time.
Meantime, Polastraj also abandoned the tractor and took the plunge into the canal, as well, suffering the same fate when he rose to the surface to breathe.
Roberts said it seemed as though they would die under the water but, as a Christian who believes in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, he began to pray for God’s intervention and, when they swam to surface, again, the bees had gone and they came out of the trench praising the Almighty.
Roberts said the vehicle was left in the bushes with its engine still in operation for some two hours and the bees in control of it, some even occupying the driver’s seat.
He said, although they had been stung so many times, God took away their pains and they crawled on their bellies on the ground to the tractor and turned off the engine before escaping to safety, leaving the vehicle in the care of the killer bees during that night.