Angry bees sting 13 people after football hits hive

Thirteen people, half of them children, were stung by a swarm of bees yesterday while resting near the Shing Mun River in Sha Tin.

The children and their parents had earlier been taking part in a soccer training session at the Hong Kong Sports Institute and were taking a break near the river bank when they were attacked at 4.30pm.

Reports from the scene said someone had kicked a football into a nearby tree which hit a beehive, sending a swarm of bees towards the group of children and their parents.

The victims ran for cover, but 13 of them - six girls, one boy, four women and two men - aged between 10 and 70, were stung on their heads and hands.

They were later treated at Princess Margaret Hospital.

Officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department were called to investigate and later removed the beehive.