A CLOSE encounter with a swarm of angry Africanised bees aback Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice on Saturday has left one Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) employee dead and another hospitalised.Dead is 56-year-old Romesh Lalaram, called ‘Satesh’, of Church Street, Bath Settlement, who had been a GuySuCo employee for over two decades.

According to GuySuCo officials, the incident occurred at about 12:45 hours on Saturday in the vicinity of “the Old Bath Field, on the road to the estate cultivation.” They said that several employees who were present at the time of the incident were also stung by the bees.

Prompt response by management saw all the affected workers being rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital in the Estate’s ambulance, but Mr. Lalaram unfortunately did not survive the attack. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

A total of six employees were treated and sent home, while a seventh remains in hospital under observation.

Those treated and sent away were Harripaul Jagdeo, R. Bissondyal, K. Lookraj, D. Persaud, Khemraj Latchman, and Ganesh Hemraj.

A GuySuCo statement said, “The Corporation is liaising closely with the family of the deceased to provide support at this very sad time. We will provide further details as more information becomes available.”