Twin toddlers die after wild bee attack in Homa Bay

A swarm of wild bees killed twin girls and injured several other people in a tragic incident at a homestead in Rachuonyo South Sub-County, Homa Bay County.

According to police, the attack occurred on Tuesday in Kobala Village, Kawino Sub-location, Kokech.

Police officers visited the scene, where they established that residents had gathered at a home to shell maize when a swarm of wild bees descended from a nearby mango tree and attacked them.

As the bees swarmed the homestead, everyone fled for safety. After the attack subsided and the residents returned, it was discovered that the children, who had been with their mothers, had suffered the most severe bee stings.

The twin girls, identified as Mary Laura and Valleta Sharif, both aged two and a half years, were rushed to Nyang’iela Level 4 Hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival.

Another toddler, aged one and a half years, was taken to Hawi Private Hospital, where she was treated and later discharged in fair condition.

Several adults also sustained minor injuries during the attack.

Police processed the scene before moving the bodies of the twin girls, which had visible bee sting marks on their faces and bodies, to the Rachuonyo County Hospital mortuary pending post-mortem examinations.

Authorities have described the incident as a tragic natural occurrence, and investigations have been completed in line with standard procedures.

And a four-year-old girl died after a fire razed her family’s house in Seme Sub-County, Kisumu County, late Tuesday night.

According to police the incident occurred at Oboro Village in the Arongo Beach area and was reported to Reru Police Station on Wednesday.

Police officers who responded to the scene found that one unit of a four-room iron-sheet residential block had been completely destroyed by the fire.

The house was occupied by the parents and their four-year-old daughter who perished in the blaze.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the family had supper at around 8:00 p.m. before the child fell asleep.

Her parents put her to bed, locked the house and walked to the father’s nearby shop, about 15 metres away, to arrange stock before closing for the night.

At around 10:00 p.m., the couple heard an explosion coming from the direction of their house. They rushed back and found it engulfed in flames.

Despite efforts by neighbours to extinguish the fire, the blaze intensified after a 6-kilogramme cooking gas cylinder inside the house caught fire. Three neighbouring households managed to salvage some of their belongings, but the family’s property was completely destroyed.

Police said the cause of the fire has not yet been established.

Crime scene investigators processed and documented the scene before retrieving the child’s body, which had been burnt beyond recognition. The remains were taken to Kombewa Referral Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.