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Volunteers use flying flamethrower drone to incinerate wasp nests in China

In this Dec. 10, 2020, photo released by Blue Sky Rescue of Zhong County, a drone equipped with a flamethrower burns a wasp nest at a village in Zhong county near Chongqing municipality in southwestern China. A drone has been converted into the flying flamethrower in central China in a fiery campaign to eradicate more than 100 wasp nests. (Blue Sky Rescue of Zhong County via AP)

BEIJING (AP) — A drone has been converted into a flying flamethrower in central China in a fiery campaign to eradicate more than 100 wasp nests.

Blue Sky Rescue, a volunteer group that conducts search and rescue and other emergency work, have teamed up with villagers in Zhong county near the city of Chongqing.

They raised 80,000 yuan (US$12,200) to buy a drone and equip it with a gasoline tank and an arm-length nozzle.

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Videos released by Blue Sky show a recent mission by the six-arm drone. It hovers above a hive as large as a suitcase before swooping down. The drone operator flips the ignition switch, and the drone spits bursts of fire onto the hive.

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“The burning ashes of the wasp’s nest gradually peeled off and fell, and the surrounding residents applauded and praised the rescue team,” said an article on a local news app run by state-owned Chongqing TV.

Click to play video: 'Problems with wasps and mice in Peterborough'
Problems with wasps and mice in Peterborough

The article quotes a resident thanking Blue Sky for helping the village: “Now we don’t have to worry about being stung by a wasp.”

Blue Sky said it has destroyed 11 hives so far. There are more than 100 to go.

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