A construction worker died after being swarmed by bees — alongside two other workers — that emerged from an underground hive in Riverside on Monday.
The incident occurred about 9:55 a.m. in the 5200 block of Van Buren Boulevard (map) as a crew was working at a construction site, the City of Riverside Fire Department stated in an incident fact sheet.
The workers were grading the property for a parking lot and may have hit an underground sprinkler control vault that housed a bee hive, according to the fact sheet.
The bees swarmed, attacking three of the workers.
One patient was hospitalized in critical condition, while one was transported in moderate condition. A third was treated at the scene for major injuries.
A spokeswoman for Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside confirmed Monday afternoon that one of the patients died, but she was unable to confirm that cause of death.
The bees were “docile” and returned to their hive shortly after the attack, the Fire Department stated.
Vector control investigators were called to the scene, and a private bee company was also requested by the construction contractor.
KTLA’s Scott Williams contributed to this article.