Man killed in Arizona bee swarm, two others hospitalized after hundreds of stings

A man was killed and two others were hospitalized after they were stung hundreds of times by bees Thursday near Tucson, Arizona, officials said.

The fire department was called about a bee swarm around noon Thursday in Marana and took three people to the hospital, one of whom died, the Northwest Fire District said.

The bees were from an open hive estimated to be around 100 pounds in a tree nearby, the fire department said in a statement.

Three firefighters were also stung, including one who was stung 60 times and taken to a hospital for an evaluation but later released, fire officials said. The two others did not need medical treatment, officials said.

Bee handlers later killed most of the bees and removed the hive, police said.

An average of 62 people died each year from bee, wasp and hornet stings from 2000 through 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in 2019. During that period, the most deaths occurred in 2017 when 89 people died.