Pune: 16 Tourists, Including 5 Children, Injured in Honeybee Attack at Shivneri Fort
Junnar, 21st April 2025: At least 16 tourists, including five children, were injured in a honeybee attack near the Shivai Devi temple at Shivneri Fort around 9:30 AM on Sunday. The victims were primarily from Jalna, Pune, and Shrivardhan. This is the fourth such incident at the fort in the past two months.
According to forest officials, the rising temperatures have driven honeybees to congregate near water sources. The use of perfumes by some visitors from Mumbai is believed to have triggered the swarm.
Panic spread quickly among the tourists. Staff from the Archaeological Department helped people escape from the base of the fort. A rescue team from Junnar, including Rajkumar Chavan, Atik Sayyed, and Mahendra Navale, arrived promptly with an ambulance.
Gokul Dabhade, an official with the Archaeological Department, assisted in evacuating a woman and two children who were stung. All injured tourists were taken to Chhatrapati Shivaji Government Hospital in Junnar for treatment.
Recurring Incidents Raise Safety Concerns
This latest attack adds to a growing list of bee-related incidents at the fort:
On February 19, during the Chief Minister’s visit for Shiv Jayanti, 10 people were injured in a bee attack.
On March 16, the eve of Shiv Jayanti, 40 people were injured in a similar incident.
On March 17, while State Minister Nitesh Rane was speaking at Shivkunj, another attack left 20 people injured.
