PRAYAGRAJ, Feb. 21 -- A swarm of bees attacked a group of students from Kasturba Gandhi Residential School during an educational tour to Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj on Friday. As many as 52 students were injured and taken to SRN Hospital and Children's Hospital for treatment. Three girls were admitted to the ICU. Departmental officials reached the hospitals shortly after receiving information about the incident. A group of 101 students from Kasturba Gandhi Residential Schools in trans-Ganga region including Phulpur, Saidabad, Pratappur and Bahadurpur blocks had reached the park along with their teachers. The attack occurred around 2 pm. After receiving calls from the teachers, officials arranged ambulances to rush the injured students to hospital. Of the 52 hurt, 42 were admitted to SRN Hospital and 10 to the Children's Hospital. Three girls in critical condition were shifted to the ICU at SRN Hospital. According to the education department, the incident may have been triggered when some sanitation workers cleaned and collected garbage beneath a tree and set it ablaze. A large beehive was attached to the same tree, and resulting smoke is believed to have agitated the bees, leading them to attack nearby students. However, some eyewitnesses in the park claimed the swarm was provoked after a young man allegedly hit hive with a brick. SRN Hospital's CMS, Dr Neelam Singh, confirmed that all injured students were treated in the Emergency Medicine department. District magistrate Manish Kumar Verma described the matter as serious and directed the CMO and the garden superintendent to investigate the source of the bees and the events leading up to the attack. He also instructed the CMO to ensure that the injured students receive uninterrupted medical care. Earlier, on Wednesday, a 65-year-old cricket umpire Manik Gupta-a long-time member of the Kanpur Cricket Association's umpiring panel-died after a swarm of bees attacked players and officials during junior league match in Unnao. htc...