CHENGALPATTU: A 7-year-old boy died and six others were hospitalised after being stung by a swarm of wasps near Tiruporur on Tuesday evening.
The deceased boy was identified as Arthanesh, a resident of Sembakkam and studying in Class 2 at a government-aided school in Sembakkam. His father, Karthikeyan (36), was a daily wage labourer.
On Tuesday evening, Arthanesh, along with a few other children, was playing behind their house when a branch fell from a nearby palm tree. Police said the branch had a wasp nest, and when disturbed by the fall, the swarm of wasps became aggressive and began stinging the children who were playing nearby.
Arthanesh and other children tried to flee the spot, but the wasps chased and attacked them. Several women in the street were also attacked by wasps.
The locals who noticed the incident rushed to the spot and lit fire torches to chase away the wasps. They then took all the injured to the Chengalpattu GH in ambulances and were admitted to the ICU. On Wednesday, Arthanesh died without responding to treatments. Based on the information from the hospital, the Tiruporur police registered a case and sent the body for post-mortem examination. Further investigation is on.