One man is dead and two of his co-workers were hospitalized after bees attacked them while working on a senior living center roof in Arizona.

According to reports from WDNU, first responders were called around 9:30 a.m. on July 7 to the Vi at Silverstone Independent Living Facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., regarding reports of crewmembers being stung by bees. According to AZCentral, they were using a lift to remove stucco from a side column when the attack occurred, using the lift to return to the ground.

The Scottsdale Police Department said three men were taken to the hospital. One of them, Nicolas Lopez Soto, 65, died due to being stung "numerous times" all over his body, including places covered by his shirt, jeans and boots.

The other two workers were reported to be in stable condition. One sustained about two dozen stings while the other received about half a dozen, according to a Scottsdale Police Department spokesperson.

AZCentral said a beekeeper was due out to address a beehive concern in the area on July 8. 

Experts are saying the bees were likely an Africanized bee colony, which makes up more than 90% of the bee population in Arizona. Beekeeper Cricket Ungvary told Arizona's Family that between the extreme heat affecting the area and a lack of plentiful food sources, the bees were likely extra protective of their food supply. She said the noise generated from the work may have set off the attack, and said the lift equipment the roofers used may have emitted a frequency that further irritated the bees. 

Africanized honey bees have a reputation for aggressively defending their colony, earning them the nickname "killer bees."

What Roofing Contractors Can Do

Beehives are not an uncommon find for roofing contractors as they tear up existing roofs. In early 2022, Elite Roofing in Arkansas uncovered a 6-foot beehive while working on the roof of the St. John's Episcopal Church in Fort Smith. In 2020, roofers in West Yorkshire, England, encountered a massive 10-foot by 4-foot beehive containing an estimated 50,000 bees while reroofing a library.

In both cases, the roofers contacted animal control officials like beekeepers to properly remove the bees, which is the best course of action for roofing contractors to take when encountering the stinging insects on the job.

"On roofs, it's often in the parapet wall," Ungvary told Arizona's Family regarding where bees establish hives. "They just need a hole the size of your little finger to get in."

If swarmed by bees, the Saguro National Park Service recommends running away from them and into an enclosed space, though this may prove difficult for roofing contractors while on a roof. Other advice is to cover one's head using a shirt or jacket while moving away from the bees. People are advised against flailing their arms, as that intensifies the bees' urge to sting, and to avoid killing them, as it releases an alarm scent that attracts other bees from the colony.