It was a chaotic scene earlier today at an elementary school in Kamloops, after a nest was disrupted and hundreds of wasps took aim at students while out on their annual Terry Fox run.
Dufferin Elementary principal Colleen Topolovec told Black Press Media that by her latest count 135 students had been stung.
The students were running along the edge of the school yard, she said, when some of the children in the front ran through a ground wasps nest.
“It rolled backwards and then spread through the whole rest of the school [running] behind in grade groups,” she said.
Wow… talk about chaos: 135 students of Dufferin Elementary school were stung by bees while out on their Terry Fox Run today in Kamloops. Principal Colleen Topolovec said 2 students allergic were luckily not stung. 2 others were taken to hospital after showing some swelling.
— Ashley Wadhwani (@ashwadhwani) September 27, 2018
Teachers and staff were posted along the route, as well as back at the school, and were able to act fast in helping students while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
“We had kids with multiple stings and wasps under their shirts and in their hair,” Topolovec said.
Luckily, the two students with known bee allergies were unharmed. Two other students were taken to hospital with their parents, she said, after showing swelling symptoms “just to be safe”.
As for the rolling wasps nest: Kamloops Search and Rescue were brought in to locate the nest and is working with pest control to remove it. The students will remain inside for the rest of the day.
@ashwadhwani
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