At least 16 children were hospitalised after a swarm of wasps attacked them at break time in a school in Germany.
The incident took place at the Adolf Reichwein secondary school in the western city of Germany’s Lüdenscheid where several students complained of wasp stings after recess yesterday.
According to reports, thirteen of the stung children were rushed to hospitals across the city with 11 of them needing emergency treatment, whereas, most of the affected children aged between 12 and 15 have been sent home after getting treatment for minor injuries at a local hospital.
One child remained under observation due to a known wasp allergy, whereas, the spokeswoman of the hospital told media that parents were asked not to come to the medical facilities are all students will undergo COVID-19 tests.
It emerged that there was a nest in the playground and the recess area was closed for exterminators to remove it, Dailymail UK reported. The school’s headmaster told a local news site that he heard a ‘sharp scream’ from a young boy coming from the schoolyard, who had been stung on the back of his knee.
Shortly after, he said he was told that a schoolgirl had been stung on her neck and was breathing poorly, showing early signs of having had an allergic reaction. This was what prompted him to call emergency services.
While it’s unknown why the wasps stung the children, the creatures usually only attack when they feel threatened or annoyed.
If a female wasp feels her home is under attack, she and the rest of the colony will use their stingers to protect the nest.
However, pest controller Sascha Pick, who was part of the extermination team, told come-on.de: ‘What happened in Lüdenscheid is not normal behaviour by wasps.
‘I have never seen so many children get stung in such a short time.’
He added that they can feel threatened by small vibrations felt in the ground, like those emitted when children play, or by changes in the weather.
The school sent all of its 1200 students home after the incident.
