Woman attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees

The 10:23 a.m. emergency call to the 23000 block of Buckland Lane was dispatched as a reported bee sting.

Responding firefighters quickly discovered how big of an understatement that was.

When their truck pulled up to the home in Lake Forest, Calif., they saw a cleaning lady being attacked by a swarm of some 80,000 bees.

The woman — “approximately 50 years old,” and identified only by her first name, Maria — was in the Orange County home with three other cleaners and had stepped out to her car to grab a mop.

In doing so, she’d come to be viewed as a threat to the swarm of Africanized bees, who neighbors said had taken up residence in a nearby drainage pipe.

But that insight wouldn’t come until later. As the Orange County Fire Authority team arrived at the horrific scene, its top task was trying to figure out how to separate the woman from the mass of attacking insects.

The emergency responders grabbed a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher and began spraying the bees that were attacking the woman, who was now barely conscious. The spray stopped the brunt of the attack.

The woman was hospitalized in critical condition, having been stung more than 200 times.

Her son told firefighters that the she is expected to survive, although her recovery will be arduous.