135 kids stung by wasps during Terry Fox Run in Kamloops

Paramedics, firefighters and a search-and-rescue team were called to a Kamloops elementary school on Thursday, where dozens of children were stung by wasps.

It happened while all 215 children enrolled at Dufferin Elementary were participating in the Terry Fox Run, and left 135 of them suffering from stings.

School principal Colleen Topolovec said it appears that one of the children at the front of the group stepped on a nest in the ground during the run, aggravating the wasps.

As more children ran over the nest, the wasps became further agitated, she said.

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“The concern is always allergies and anaphylaxis when we treat children who have been stung by wasps or bees,” said Michael Saat with BC Ambulance.

Topolovec said staff with the school watched closely to monitor possible reactions from any of the kids.

“None of the children that were known to be anaphylactic to the school had a reaction,” she said.

“But all the children were in the gym being observed after the incident, and while they were being observed, some of the other children had reactions and they were taken to the hospital.”

Classes were not cancelled, however, the school notified parents, many of whom collected their children and took them home early.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

— With files from CFJC News