Bees sting man 50 to 100 times, firefighters say

A man was hospitalized Thursday after a swarm of bees in Costa Mesa stung him 50 to 100 times, according to fire officials.

Workers were taking shingles off the roof of a home at Liard Place and Klondike Avenue, near Shiffer Park, when they disturbed a hive at about 8:30 a.m., Deputy Fire Chief Fred Seguin said.

The bees started swarming and stung one of the roofers — a man in his 20s — dozens of times, according to the fire department.

“He went off the roof as quickly as he could, screaming,” Seguin said.

When paramedics arrived, they took the man to a local trauma center, according to Seguin.

Another man in his 60s also was taken to the hospital. He came out of his house across the street during the commotion to see what was happening and was stung 10 to 15 times, Seguin said.

Firefighters sprayed foam to neutralize the swarm and called for a specialist to remove the hive.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck