EIGHT passengers were attacked by a swarm of bees as they sat on chairlifts riding high over Sentosa on Wednesday. The visitors, five Indonesians and three children from Malaysia, were secured to their seats by a safety bar on the lift, which reaches heights equal to 12-storey buildings. They were helpless to escape until the ride reached the Imbiah Lookout point.
Rangers and patrol officers are on hand at the station immediately provided first aid.
But the insects continued to attack them for 15 minutes until rain forced them to disperse, according to media reports, which said some of the children had their arms covered in stings.
Five of the victims were taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) by the Singapore Civil Defence Force after it received a call at 2.16pm. The children were taken there by their father, reported The New Paper. All eight were treated and discharged the same evening in a stable condition, an SGH spokesman confirmed.
Describing it as an "isolated" and "one-off" incident, a Sentosa Leisure Group spokesman said "a few" of the eight were back in Sentosa the following day. There have been no previous attacks in the past few years and checks for bees and hornets are conducted daily, the spokesman added.
Mr Danny Luke, general manager of Skyline Luge Sentosa, said the bees had appeared from nowhere: "The environment team from Sentosa inspected the site twice and they did not find any hives. It is beyond our control."
He added that a beehive had been found in the area last year and it was removed on the same day.
National University of Singapore entomology professor Rudolf Meier said the incident was an instance of the visitors being at "the wrong place at the wrong time". He added: "Bees are protective of their territory but won't attack for food or anything else... There was little (the victims) could do."
Yesterday, visitors queuing for the ride at Sentosa did not let the news get in the way of their fun.
"I believe such attacks are rare. I wouldn't worry too much as we came here to have a good time," said Malaysian Chin Yoke Lan, 34.
Ms Charlotte Hurley, 23, from England, said what happened to the eight visitors was unfortunate. "But I'm not worried because it is a one-off. What are the chances? So many rides go up the hill every day," she [email protected]
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