(CNN) -- Swarms of bees hampered rescue efforts at the scene of a fatal wreck in Minnesota on Monday after they escaped from the damaged tractor-trailer that was hauling them, state highway patrol said.

One person was confirmed dead in the crash, which involved the bee truck, another tractor-trailer and two passenger vehicles, highway patrol spokesman Lt. Eric Roeske said.

Some first responders were stung as they reached the scene of the wreck on Interstate 35 in Lakeville, about 20 miles south of Minneapolis, Roeske said.

Firefighters were misting the air with fire hoses in an effort to keep the bees away more than three hours after the crash, he said.

Roeske said an investigation into the cause of the wreck was under way, but it appeared that the two passenger vehicles were crushed by the tractor-trailers.

"The damage is extreme," he said, adding that one of the passenger vehicles was so mangled that police are unsure whether another victim is inside the car.

A person in the second passenger vehicle was airlifted to a hospital, Roeske said.

CNN's Sarah Aarthun contributed to this report.