Park employees burn down 50 trees in beehive removal attempt

An attempt to remove a beehive has resulted in about 50 trees being burned at a park in Incheon, fire authorities said Wednesday.

According to the Incheon Fire Department, the fire broke out in a tree at a sports park entrance in Oryu-dong of Seo-gu, Incheon, at 1:18 p.m. on Wednesday. The fire is said to have started when park employees used a lighter and insecticide spray to remove a beehive found among the branches.

No human casualties were discovered, but 50 Dwarf juniper trees were burned.

Park employees managed to bring the fire under control with extinguishers before firefighters arrived. The fire was completely extinguished by the fire department at 2:46 p.m.

According to the fire department, it was confirmed as a fire caused by negligence.

“Dwarf juniper are full of twigs, making it easy for the fire to spread,” stated a fire official. “Since the size of the tree is small, the accident didn’t cause too much damage.”