File photo of the KSRTC bus that operates through the forest route from Pathanamthitta to Kumily via Gavi in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
| Photo Credit: LEJU KAMAL
Seventeen persons were injured after a swarm of giant honeybees attacked a KSRTC bus near Gavi in Pathanamthitta district on Monday (September 21, 2026).
The incident occurred around 11 a.m. near Kozhikanam, close to the Vallakkadavu checkpost in Vandiperiyar, within the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The bus, which had 58 people on board, including the crew, had left Pathanamthitta at 5.30 a.m. for Kumily via Gavi.
As the bus passed Gavi, the driver stopped at a narrow stretch of road to give way to an oncoming car. In an instant, a swarm of bees surged into the bus, sending passengers into panic. They hurriedly shut the windows and shutters, but the bees began stinging them relentlessly. Several passengers jumped off the bus and fled, only to be chased by the swarm and stung again.
Evacuation
Bus driver Rassaq, who was also injured in the attack, managed to reach the Vallakkadavu forest checkpost in a passing pickup jeep and alert the authorities. A team of forest personnel soon rushed to the spot in a bus and a jeep and evacuated the injured to nearby hospitals.
The injured were taken to the community health centre at Vandiperiyar and the Peerumade taluk hospital for treatment. Ten of them were later shifted to the Peerumade hospital, while seven others left for Pathanamthitta on another KSRTC bus from Kumily around 1.30 p.m.
Forest officials said the remote location, where there was no mobile phone coverage, posed a challenge in the rescue operation.
Published – September 21, 2026 06:18 pm IST
