In a tragic incident, a coffee picker lost his life after plummeting from a cliff while attempting to escape from an aggressive swarm of bees.
Jhon Alexánder Soto Suaza was walking home with a colleague after completing their work for the day when the unfortunate incident occurred. Opting for a shortcut over a stream, they unknowingly encountered the swarm of bees.
Under attack from the enraged bees, Jhon panicked and began running to escape, leading him to fall from a precipice to the ground below.
His colleague promptly alerted the authorities in the rural town of Fredonia, situated approximately 35 miles south of Medellín in Colombia.
Emergency services swiftly arrived at the scene and initiated a search operation around 5 p.m. on 29 May.
A spokesperson from the fire department stated, “During the search, the victim was not found at the location. In the initial operation, six search units were deployed, covering the terrain where the incident took place. The search was constrained by the presence of a ravine and steep cliffs in the area, prompting us to devise an alternative search plan.”
Firefighters eventually discovered Jhon’s lifeless body around 8 p.m.
The spokesperson further explained, “Later in the evening, we executed a plan to explore further up the ravine with the assistance of local residents we were familiar with. We located the body approximately 229 metres (751 ft) up the ravine.”
Search leader Esteban Blandón commented, “His death resulted from the fall. The drop was around seven metres (23 ft), causing multiple fractures, including a skull fracture. After falling, he became wedged in the same spot due to the rocky nature of the ravine, preventing the water from carrying him away.”
Despite the challenging terrain, authorities successfully recovered Jhon’s body from the hard-to-reach area and transported it to the morgue at Santa Lucía Hospital in Fredonia.
An investigation into the exact cause of his tragic demise is currently underway.
