At least 35 persons — students of a karate class and local Trinamul leaders — got badly stung by bees at Sulkapara in Nagrakata block of Jalpaiguri on Sunday afternoon.

All of them were treated at the local block health centre.

Sources said that Rakesh Mahali, a local karateka and trainer, was conducting karate classes for schoolchildren on the grounds of an abandoned bungalow of the state public works department.

Suddenly, a swarm of bees flew into the area and started stinging them. The injured children ran helter-skelter.

In another portion of the ground, a group of local Trinamool leaders and supporters had assembled for a booth-level party meeting. The bees stung them as well.

“Our meeting was in progress when the incident happened. We were completely baffled. Some other people who were simply moving through the area were stung,” said Sayed Abimul Mohammad, the local booth president of the TMC.

Among the passersby, Krishna Oraon, riding a bike in the area was stung by bees. He fell off his two-wheeler and got injured. A pedestrian, Moslem Ansari, also got injured.

Mahali, the karate trainer, said he had been holding classes for months now on the same ground. “We have never faced such an attack of bees before,” he said.

Residents helped the injured reach the block health centre. “We have asked the karate trainer to find some other venue for his classes for the safety of children,” said
a villager.

Doctors at the block health centre said that all the injured, including the children, had been treated for stings.

“Some have been stung multiple times, which is very painful,” said a source.

A resident said that the origin of the bees had not been traced yet. “So far, no one knows where the hive is. It must be found out,” he said.