The top stories on CBS4.com
Nov 3, 2009 5:34 pm US/Eastern
Kendall: Man Dies After Apparent Bee Swarm Attack
Spokesman For Bird & Bee Removal Says Hive Had 100,000 Bees
KENDALL (CBS4) ―
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Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews attend to the body of a man who was attacked and killed by a swarm of bees on the roof of a Kendall apartment building.
CBS
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The body is lowered to the ground
CBS
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A beekeeper works to kill bees in the roof of a Kendall building after another beekeeper was apparently stung to death earlier in the day.
CBS
A 61-year-old man who was dressed as a bee keeper lost his life on the roof top of an apartment building after police say he disturbed a bee hive. One expert told us that bee hive contained 100,000 bees.
It was 8:08 Tuesday morning when Miami-Dade Fire Rescue received a call about a man who was in trouble on a rooftop at the Tree Top Apartments near Kendall at 10840 S.W. 84th St. When firefighter-paramedics reached the roof of the building, they discovered that 61-year-old Jorge Luis Acosta had died.
It was not clear how he died. "We have to hear from the Medical Examiner's office about this," said Chief Al Cruz of the Miami-Dade Fire Department. "But we did not find any obvious bee stings on this gentleman."
Investigators say a hive of possibly Africanized bees was disturbed and one expert, Willie the Bee Man, told us that can be very dangerous. "Anything like this that is done that can stir up bees can be a problem, and they will do anything they can to protect the hive. It's particularly dangerous where he was some three stories up, with the honey they put out. That can be very slippery."
From the ground and from Chopper 4, you could see a swarm of bees near the spot where Acosta lost his life.
"We just don't know what caused his death," said Miami-Dade Police detective Lena Adams. "He could have fallen trying to get away from the bees. We just don't know. We do know that the hive was disturbed."
It's also not been confirmed by the authorities that Acosta was a bee keeper. Resident Jonathan Menod said, "We heard footsteps on the roof at 6 a.m. We think he had been called in to get rid of the problem with the bees. Supposedly he was a real bee keeper, but he did not work for a regular bee company."
Residents were told Acosta free lanced as a bee keeper. "We've been after the apartment management for at least 6 months to fix the problem. We have asked the association. It's unfortunate it took some dire situation like this for the problem to be taken care of."
A manager for the Tree Top apartments drove her car away from CBS4's Peter D'Oench when he tried to ask her about Acosta's death. And when D'Oench called up the apartment complex, a manager there told him, "We've told the Police everything. You should talk to then." When he asked her if Acosta had been hired to clean up the bee problem, the manager hung up the telephone.
After the accident, Tree Top apartments called in the company, Bird & Bee Removal, to get rid of the 100,000 bees. "We got rid of all of them by spraying them with chemicals," said company spokesman Rolando Calzadilla. He said there could be other hives as well.
Chief Cruz said samples of the bees were being sent to a laboratory at the University of Florida to determine what type of bees they were. "It appears they might have been Africanized bees. They were very aggressive."
The so-called "Killer Bees" are found in much of the South, stretching from California all the way to South Florida. They were first found in South Florida in 2005. The Africanized Honey Bees are more aggressive and attack in larger groups. They often nest in small and sheltered areas.
Calzadilla told us he thought the bees had been at the apartment building for at least a year.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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