There was a buzz in the air Friday in northwestern Washington state as about 14 million honeybees escaped a commercial truck that overturned.
The truck hauling an estimated 70,000 pounds (31,751 kilograms) of honeybee hives rolled over around 4 a.m. PT close to the Canadian border near Lynden, Wash., just south of Abbotsford, B.C., the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said in social media posts.
It appears the driver did not navigate a tight turn well enough, causing the trailer to roll into a ditch, county emergency management spokesperson Amy Cloud said in an email. The driver was uninjured, Cloud said.
Deputies, county public works employees and several bee experts responded to the scene. The box hives later came off the truck, and local beekeepers swarmed to help recover, restore and reset the hives, according to the sheriff’s office.
WATCH | Millions of honeybees released after rollover: A commercial truck carrying over 30,000 kilograms of honeybee hives rolled over …