The incident occurred when Austin Bellamy, 20, climbed a tree Friday morning to help a friend trim its branches before he accidentally cut into a nest full of African killer bees, his mother Shawna Carter wrote on aGoFundMepage established to help with his medical expenses.
Research from theUnited States Department of Agricultureshows that Africanized honey bees “are more defensive, stinging more with less provocation than other honey bees.”
“I was going to try and climb the ladder to get to Austin… but I couldn’t get to him because I was surrounded in bees,” Phyllis told the outlet.
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“He tried to anchor himself down, and he couldn’t,” she added. “He was hollering, ‘Help! Help me! Help!’ And nobody would help him.”
A firefighter from Ripley Fire Department named Craig was able to rescue Bellamy before he was rushed to the hospital for treatment, according to the outlet.
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It is expected that Bellamy will make a full recovery, according to the outlets. PEOPLE has reached out to Bellamy’s family for comment.
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“It looked like he had a black blanket on his head down to his neck, down to his arms,” she explained, adding that “he had bees inside of him, and they suctioned bees out of him until Sunday morning.”
She also expressed her gratitude to the firefighter who helped her son. “When I think of Craig, Craig is a lifesaver,” she said. “He’s Austin’s angel.”
source: people.com
