“A branch of an Ashoka tree on the campus broke and fell on a beehive in the tree. Soon, the disturbed bees swarmed towards the students and stung them, triggering panic. Taken aback by the sudden bee attack, the students ran helter-skelter by screaming in pain, while the teachers remained helpless,” police said.

A total of 47 students, including 23 girls and a woman staff were injured in the bee attack. They all were treated at Guruvareddiyur Government Hospital as outpatients, where the panicked parents gathered after knowing the information on the bee attack. The beehive was then removed from the tree.

This incident comes after a 26-year-old tourist from Kerala died and two others were injured in a bee attack at the Needle Rock View Point near Gudalur in The Nilgiris, a week ago. They allegedly trespassed into the forest area and disturbed the beehive by hurling a stone, resulting in the deadly attack.