Daringbadi: As many as 40 students of a Sevashram School at Badabanga panchayat of Daringbadi block in Kandhamal district were injured, including four of them seriously, after being attacked by a swarm of honeybees Monday.
Dr Swagat Senapati of Daringbadi community health centre said that four students who are critical are currently under observation, while the rest were discharged after treatment.
The incident occurred around 11:30 am, shortly after the school had closed for the day, when some students stepped outside the campus to bathe. A swarm of bees from a tree in the vicinity of the school campus became agitated due to some reason and began attacking the children while they were bathing. Panic broke out as the students ran back inside the school premises to escape the attack.
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On being informed, Badabanga Sarpanch Prasanna Kumar Pradhan contacted Headmaster Pranabandu Mahanayak, and rushed the injured students to the Daringbadi community health center in two auto-rickshaws. All the students, except the four seriously injured, were discharged after primary treatment.
Notably, a week earlier, the BDO had summoned officials from various Sevashram Schools to discuss ongoing issues and problems.
Parents are reportedly upset that, despite beehives being present on the premises for several years, school authorities have remained clueless about the development. The headmaster is stated to have already flagged the problem in the school’s messaging group.
PNN