Tributes have been paid to a woman who died after being swarmed by bees in Co Mayo.
The woman, who was in her 70s, was airlifted to Sligo University Hospital where she subsequently died, following the incident yesterday evening.
The tragedy happened in the Heathfield area, outside the village of Ballycastle in north Mayo.
It is understood the woman was attacked by bees while working with her husband at the hives, which were located at the edge of a field.
Eyewitnesses report seeing a huge number of bees surround the woman, with efforts to assist her compromised by the sheer volume of insects in the area at the time. She is thought to have sustained multiple stings.
Emergency services were alerted and the the Rescue 118 Coast Guard helicopter was deployed to airlift the woman to Sligo University Hospital.
She died there a short time later.
The local coroner has been notified and a post mortem examination is due to be carried out to determine the exact cause of death.
A number of people were treated at the scene for bee stings and one woman in her 40s was taken by ambulance to Mayo University Hospital for further treatment, but was discharged a short time later.
There is widespread sadness and shock in the locality in the aftermath of the incident.
The Mayo Beekeepers’ Association has offered its sincere sympathies to the woman’s family, saying she was an accomplished and cherished member of its community.
Beekeepers say that fatalities arising from the practice are very rare but in some cases people can have severe allergic reactions to stings. Bees can be more protective in poorer weather conditions and more easily agitated when their crop is removed from a hive.
The local Beekeepers’ Association says honey bees are not usually aggressive and that it is "unprecedented" for a colony to become this defensive.
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