Bees Attack Bus Riders, Kill Livestock

Swarms of what were believed to be killer bees attacked several bus passengers on a highway near this Pacific Coast city and killed two burros and cows in nearby fields.

The government news agency Notimex said there were no human deaths in the attack Monday near Mazatlan, 530 miles northwest of Mexico City.

Several people were taken to emergency rooms for treatment.

The killer bees are originally from Africa, but some were taken to Brazil in the 1950s for experiments on how to increase honey production, experts say. Once there, they began moving north.

The bees get their nickname from their aggressive behavior. Africanized honeybees attack in furious swarms with little provocation, pursue victims much farther than the more common European bees, and remain agitated for up to eight hours.