During a school trip in the Hohe Mark Nature Park in North Rhine-Westphalia, twelve students and teachers were attacked and injured by a swarm of hornets. The large insects attacked the first graders while they were lifting a branch, as the city of Oer-Erkenschwick announced on Tuesday. Numerous rescue workers were on duty.
At around 10:30 a.m., the first group reported to the fire brigade control center in the Recklinghausen district and reported that five girls and boys had suffered insect bite injuries from hornets. Since the primary school class was traveling in the Haard forest area and, according to the callers’ descriptions, there were no states of shock or anything similar, the control center agreed on a meeting point at the edge of the forest. Several ambulances and emergency doctors arrived – but after a short examination they gave the all-clear.
Shortly after the emergency services left the group, the second group reported that they had also been attacked. This time, six children and an adult companion fell victim to the hornets. The emergency services turned around. “Fortunately, in all cases it was just simple stitches,” said a fire department spokesman. The district forester and the security service then secured the danger area.
Sources: dpa, “t-online”, “Presseportal”
