Miami man found dead in home swarming with 60,000 bees

A Miami man was found dead in his home, which was swarming with 60,000 bees, the Miami Herald reported.

It seems that Donald Mason, 49, was standing on a chair and fell, hitting his head. But an autopsy will determine if his death was a result of the fall or the multiple bee stings he suffered, the Daily Mail reported. Mason had been in the process of renovating his family home from the 1920s.

Mason’s body was discovered by his teenage daughter hours later on Saturday, covered in bees, the New York Daily News reported.

The two-story home he was renovating was built by Mason’s great-grandfather in Miami’s Little Havana, surviving hurricanes, neighborhood demographic changes and the construction of the new Florida Marlins’ stadium, the Miami Herald reported.

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Mason, an electrician, had apparently fog sprayed the hive in the wall and was patching it up when the accident occurred.

“His heart was there, but the effort was too much for him, especially on a limited budget,” said brother Tim Mason, 50, to the Miami Herald. “But he loved this home.” His daughter said he was renovating the home so she could later move in, the Daily Mail reported.

“We're not sure if he fell, had a medical condition or if it was bee stings,” Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Ignatius Carroll said, the Daily Mail reported. “But you can imagine how devastating this was for her to find him.”

The Miami police spokesperson said when officers arrived on the scene they could hear the humming of the bees from outside. Paramedics couldn’t get to the body until a bee control expert arrived and removed the insects, which he estimated at about 60,000, the Miami Herald reported.

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