A worker needed a fortnight to recover after he was repeatedly stung by a swarm of bees while dismantling an old mine in Western Australia.
According to a report filed by the Department of Mines and Petroleum this week, the worker was acting as a spotter while others moved a motor control centre mounted on a pontoon that had stood idle for six years.
As it moved, bees swarmed from the pontoon and stung the man on his head and upper body almost 90 times, despite three hives being sprayed by a pest controller the previous day.
He ran into a vehicle to escape the bees but they flooded in through an open door, so he jumped out and ran along the road.
The man was picked up by another worker who was driving to the job and brought to hospital.
"Fortunately, the individual was not allergic to bee stings otherwise the outcome could have been much worse," the department said.
It said the attack came about because the pest controller had failed to spot a fourth hive during spraying.
The mine was situated in a wildflower area where there had been 61 similar incidents over 13 years, some requiring medical treatment and resulting in workers taking time off work.
"Mine operators are reminded of the importance of identifying hazards associated with fauna on site and developing safe systems of work to manage the risks," the department said.
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