At the Quill volcano on St. Eustatius, a rescue operation for a tourist who had fallen into the crater turned out to be a tragedy on Thursday. Emergency workers were attacked by swarms of bees during the rescue work and had to be hospitalized, as did the injured hiker.
The man, according to local authorities a tourist from the Caribbean, had gone for a walk with his wife on Wednesday afternoon towards Mazinga, the top of the 600-metre high volcano The Quill. There he would have slipped and fallen at least thirty meters into the crater of the dormant volcano, containing dense tropical forest.
His wife immediately alerted the local emergency services on Wednesday evening. She was found after a number of hours, but the man could not be immediately traced despite a major search. It was only around noon on Thursday that the crashed hiker, who had a serious head wound, a concussion and bruised ribs, was found by emergency workers near a tree trunk.
When rescue team members tried to move the injured hiker, they were in turn attacked by swarms of bees from a nearby nest. Some rescuers as well as the injured man were stabbed “dozens of times,” said French climber Mathieu Santailler, who was involved in the rescue. “At least three people became unconscious for a moment.”
According to those involved, a new group of volunteers had to be called in to help the first group of rescuers from the crater, which is approximately 300 meters deep, and transfer them to the local hospital. The relief operation was not completed until Thursday evening. The injured hiker was flown to the hospital in Sint Maarten for further examination. Some care workers who had symptoms of shock after the bee stings were “admitted to the local clinic for observation overnight,” said Andrew Bennett, crisis manager of St. Eustatius.
For privacy reasons, the identity of the hiker has not been released. The government of Sint Eustatius has ordered an investigation into the bee population in The Quill and is considering closing the paths in the crater for the time being to tackle the problems with the bee nests.