Warning as truck accident unleashes 250 million honeybees in northwestern US
A truck carrying millions of honeybees has overturned in the northwestern United States, prompting emergency warnings from local authorities.
The truck, carrying approximately 31,751kg (70,000 pounds) of active beehives, overturned on Friday in Washington state's Whatcom County – a rural area near the Canadian border, about 48km south of Vancouver.
'250 million bees are now loose,' the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) announced on its official social media page. 'Avoid the area due to the potential of bee escaping and swarming.' Authorities sealed off parts of the area and urged the public to keep a safe distance of at least 200 yards (182 metres) as officials and bee experts helped recover, restore and reset the hives, according to the sheriff's office.
The goal, officials said, is to safely re-hive the bees and help them locate their queens, a process that could take up to 48 hours. While some beekeepers focus solely on honey production, many others lease their hives to farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops. (Agencies)
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4 days ago
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Warning as truck accident unleashes 250 million honeybees in northwestern US
A truck carrying millions of honeybees has overturned in the northwestern United States, prompting emergency warnings from local authorities. The truck, carrying approximately 31,751kg (70,000 pounds) of active beehives, overturned on Friday in Washington state's Whatcom County – a rural area near the Canadian border, about 48km south of Vancouver. '250 million bees are now loose,' the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) announced on its official social media page. 'Avoid the area due to the potential of bee escaping and swarming.' Authorities sealed off parts of the area and urged the public to keep a safe distance of at least 200 yards (182 metres) as officials and bee experts helped recover, restore and reset the hives, according to the sheriff's office. The goal, officials said, is to safely re-hive the bees and help them locate their queens, a process that could take up to 48 hours. While some beekeepers focus solely on honey production, many others lease their hives to farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops. (Agencies)
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Truck accident unleashes 250 million honeybees in northwestern US
A truck carrying millions of honeybees has overturned in the northwestern United States, prompting emergency warnings from local authorities. The truck, carrying approximately 31,751kg (70,000 pounds) of active beehives, overturned on Friday in Washington state's Whatcom County – a rural area near the Canadian border, about 48km (30 miles) south of Vancouver. '250 million bees are now loose,' the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) announced on its official social media page. 'Avoid the area due to the potential of bee escaping and swarming.' Authorities sealed off parts of the area and urged the public to keep a safe distance of at least 200 yards (182 metres) as officials and bee experts helped recover, restore and reset the hives, according to the sheriff's office. The goal, officials said, is to safely re-hive the bees and help them locate their queens, a process that could take up to 48 hours. While some beekeepers focus solely on honey production, many others lease their hives to farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops. The loss of millions of bees, even temporarily, could threaten the productivity of nearby farms during the growing season. 'While there is no general health risk to the public, anyone who is allergic to bee stings or has concerns should check the State Department of Health webpage on bees and wasps,' WCSO said. Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 crops including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Bees and other pollinators have been declining for years, and experts blame insecticides, parasites, disease, climate change and lack of a diverse food supply. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly sponsored the first 'World Bee Day' on May 20 to bring attention to the bees' plight. Beekeepers often transport millions of bees from one location to another because leaving them in one location for too long can deplete resources for other pollinators, The Seattle Times newspaper reported. In 2015, 14 million bees escaped a truck north of Seattle on Interstate 5 and started stinging people, the newspaper reported at the time.
Al Jazeera
18-02-2025
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Toronto plane crash: Why the aircraft flipped upside down on landing
A Delta Airlines plane has crash-landed in Toronto, Canada's largest city, but all 80 people on board have survived. At least 18 people were injured after the plane flipped upside down as it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday amid windy weather following a snowstorm. list of 4 items list 1 of 4 list 2 of 4 list 3 of 4 list 4 of 4 end of list Here is more about the crash that adds to a series of recent aviation mishaps. What happened and when? Delta flight 4819 originating from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in the US state of Minnesota crash landed on the runway at about 3:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Monday. The plane CRJ900 was manufactured by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier. While the aircraft burst into flames, prompting fire crews to extinguish them, the fuselage of the plane remained largely intact. Social media footage showed people leaving the flipped plane and walking across the tarmac, shielding themselves from snowfall and strong winds. What caused the aircraft to flip upon landing? Experts say a plane flipping upside down is unusual, but not unknown. They speculate that this happened due to the snowy, windy Toronto weather. Aviation expert Scott Hamilton told Newsweek magazine that the strong winds and snow could have played a role in flipping over the plane. He added that flipping can be caused by factors including weather conditions, speed of approach, anomalies in braking and thruster viability. 'We've seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where aeroplane have ended up inverted, but it's pretty rare,' John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St Petersburg, Florida was quoted as saying by The Associated Press news agency. Cox, who was a pilot, flew with US Air for 25 years and said the CRJ900 is equipped to handle weather like this. He said among the questions that need to be answered is why the crashed aircraft was missing its right wing. While authorities have not revealed the exact cause of the crash, Toronto was experiencing winter storms with strong winds and heavy snow. Around the time of landing, strong gusts of 65 km/h (40 mph) were blowing through the snow. About 22cm (8.7 inches) of snow blanketed the airport over the weekend. Snow had also fallen the week before. Audio recordings revealed that the control tower warned the pilots of a potential 'bump' in air flow upon approach. What do we know about the passengers? There were 76 passengers and four crew on the plane. Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said 18 injured passengers were taken to hospital. However, Ontario-based air ambulance service Ornge said on Monday that a child, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 40s were critically injured. It said the child was taken to Toronto's SickKids hospital and the adults were taken to other hospitals in the city. What is the current status of the investigation? The Transportation Safety Board is putting together a team of investigators to probe the crash. While flights have resumed at the airport, authorities warn there could be operational delays since two runways have been closed for investigation. In a late news conference on Monday, Aitken said: 'The cause of the crash is still under investigation and being led by the Transportation Safety Board. It's not appropriate for us to comment at this time.' Sign boards list delayed and cancelled flights inside the arrivals hall of Terminal 3 after a Delta Air Lines plane crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, February 17, 2025. [Arlyn McAdorey/Reuters] Canadian authorities held two news conferences but did not provide details on why the crash took place. Deborah Flint, the CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said people on board had 'relatively minor injuries'. '17 injured passengers were taken to local area hospitals. At this time, we do not know of any of those passengers having critical injuries,' she told reporters at a news conference. 'No airport CEO wants to have these types of press conferences but this is exactly what our emergency, our operations and our first responders are all practised and trained for,' she added. 'And again, this outcome is due in part to their heroic work and I thank them profusely.' The airport provided an update later that an 18th passenger had been transported to hospital. Flint's account differs from what Ornge Air Ambulance said about three critically injured passengers. It is unclear why the accounts of the conditions of the injured differed. Source: Al Jazeera
