Truck full of BEES overturns on busy motorway, causing mass stingings and traffic chaos

A truck carrying a cargo of 14million BEES flipped on a busy motorway, causing mass stingings and traffic chaos.

Firefighters were forced to spray a mixture of foam and water on the bees to calm them down or kill them after temperatures rose and agitated them.

The vehicle rolled in the early hours of the morning on a road near the city of Lynwood in Washington. The driver was not injured.

Beekeepers were on the scene within an hour trying to recapture the insects, worth £62,000.

Television reporters who descended on the scene were forced to swatted at the swarms surrounding and piles of bee carcasses covered the road.

Drivers were advised to keep their windows rolled up as they drove past.

"Everybody’s been stung," Sgt. Ben Lewis of the State Patrol told the Seattle Times. "This is a first."

The truck was towed away by 8am, but traffic snaked back as the wreckage was cleared.

A digger and a dump truck were needed to remove the 458 bee hives.

Seth Thompson, of owners Belleville Farms, said the company was able to save some hives, but the loss is a huge financial blow.

Sgt. Leary added that he still had about six bees in his patrol car.