Couple taken to hospital after falling tree traps two people in Lower Templestowe
An elderly couple was swarmed by bees and stung after a tree containing bee hives fell on them during an early-morning walk. Witnesses have described hearing screaming during the horrific ordeal.
Outer East
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An elderly couple have been taken to hospital after being trapped by a falling gum tree and attacked by bees in Lower Templestowe this morning.
The tree came crashing down along the Ruffey Creek Trail near the Templestowe Bowling Club just after 8am, hitting a man and a woman believed to be in their 70s.
Emergency services arrived shortly after, with paramedics assessing two patients at the scene.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said the woman was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition with upper and lower body injuries, while the man was transported to Austin Hospital in a stable condition.
Their condition is not known.
Firefighters are currently working to make the area around Parker and Swilk streets safe.
There are traffic delays in the area.
Melissa Cakes Cafe Bar’s Joeii Katsakis was opening up the shop for takeaway service when the tree fell.
She said the fall caused a large swarm of bees or wasps in the area.
“A customer heard the tree fall and ran over when they heard someone screaming for help,” she told the Herald Sun.
“It was about a 40ft tree, a very fat tree and it looks like it’s fallen completely.
“We actually get quite a few wasps around our shop.”
She said it was lucky someone was around to hear their calls for help otherwise emergency services might not have arrived as quickly.
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