Thousands of bees from 'hidden' hive engulf a woman and sting her hundreds of times

Joel Shannon | USA TODAY

A woman was attacked by thousands of bees and stung hundreds of times on Monday in Southern California.

The incident resulted in at least three people – the woman and two firefighters – being transported to a hospital. The woman was "stung hundreds of times transported to a local hospital in critical condition," the Orange County Fire Authority said in a statement posted on social media.

Fire Capt. Tony Bommarito said the woman's face was covered with bees when firefighters arrived. He said bee experts estimate the hive held at least 30,000 bees.

"(The bees) were almost in clusters," Ryan Wilson, an Orange County Fire Authority paramedic who was at the scene, told NBC Los Angeles. "Maybe the size of a golf ball all over her ... she had them on her face, around her mouth, around her ears, her neck and her hair."

Firefighters used a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher to help stop the attack, and two additional firefighters declined treatment, Bommarito said.

He said the woman was attacked on her way to her car as she left a house in Lake Forest, California, where she was working as a housekeeper. The bees' hive was hidden by bushes, Bommarito said.

The woman is expected to survive, according to family, the Orange County Fire Authority posted to social media. The firefighters were treated and released, a statement said.

The bees' behavior mirrors that of Africanized honey bees, also called "killer bees," and KCAL 9 reports that the bees were Africanized honey bees.

More: Killer bees DO want to sting you. Know these Africanized-bee safety tips.

Africanized honey bees have been seen in the Southern United States since the early 1990s. That's after an incident occurred about 60 years ago in Brazil where a beekeeper accidentally released 26 Tanzanian queen bees and their swarms into the wild.

The bees had been brought to South America from Africa in an attempt to increase honey production. Once they escaped, they thrived.

The bees are responsible for approximately 1,000 human deaths, the Smithsonian Institute says.

Africanized bees appear similar to other honey bees and they also pollinate plants. Their sting is no more potent than that of other honey bees.

However, their nesting habits and, most importantly, their temperament, have earned them a bad reputation.

“They are very aggressive and they will sting in great numbers,” Nancy Troyano, an entomologist with pest control company Western Exterminator, said. “And they will pursue a threat for up to a quarter of a mile."

Contributing: Weldon Johnson, The Arizona Republic; The Associated Press