25 injured after swarm of bees attacks visitors at Sinhagad Fort

The officer added, “We evacuated the fort and have stopped the entry for the day. Our teams are assessing the situation. We will take a decision to open the entry tomorrow after we assess the situation again.”

Teams from the Forest Department, the district disaster management department and local volunteers responded to the situation. Officials said at least 25 people were injured, with eight of them requiring hospitalisation. A one-and-a-half-year-old boy and a 68-year-old man were seriously injured but were said to be out of immediate danger.

In a similar incident at Shivneri Fort in February last year, close to a dozen people were injured when a swarm of bees attacked visitors who had gathered at the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to mark his birth anniversary.

In another incident in March 2022 at Shivneri Fort, at least 200 people were injured after a large swarm of bees suddenly swarmed from three nearby beehives.

Similar incidents have been reported in the past at several historic hill forts near Pune. Forest officials have said that in some cases agitation of bee swarms can be attributed to rising temperatures, strong smells such as perfumes or smoke due to human presence, or other disturbances caused by visitors.