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31st May 2025
05:05pm BST
250 million honeybees have escaped into nature after a lorry overturned on a road in the US.
The lorry which was travelling across the state of Washington was carrying approximately 70,000lbs (31,751kg) of hives when the incident happened.
The truck overturned near the city of Lynden, close to the border with Canada.
People were urged to stay away from the area by Whatcom County Sheriff's Office (WSCO) with around 250 million bees on the run.
Taking to social media, WCSO said: "Avoid the area due to the potential of bee escape and swarming."
Nobody was injured in the incident including the driver who had miscalculated a tight turn which led to the trailer rolling into a ditch early on Friday.
The aftermath was dealt with by a combination of emergency crews and local beekeepers to aid in recovering and resetting the hives, say the sheriff's office.
WCSO wrote on social media: "Thank you to the wonderful community of beekeepers: over two dozen showed up to help ensure the rescue of millions of pollinating honeybees would be as successful as possible."
It is believed that the bees can be recovered, hoping they will come back to find their queen bee over the coming days.
WCSO said: "The goal is to save as many of the bees as possible."
It is common practice in the UK for beekeepers to transport hives around the country to help pollinate crops.
Despite not being native to the nation, honeybees are vital to the industry, pollinating $15bn (£11.1bn) worth of crops each year, but their numbers are on the decline.
A report published by Project Apis m. in February found that commercial beekeepers lost on average over 60% of their colonies over winter.
The non-profit organisation said: "These alarming numbers could significantly impact crop pollination of essential foods and harm the profitability of the nation's agriculture industry," it said at the time.
Lack of forage, which is being depleted by climate change, urban sprawl and pesticides is a leading cause, according to the organisation.
