Worker dies after he's stung by swarm of bees in Thermal date orchard

Bees gather around a hive. A Thermal man died after he was stung by a swarm of bees, his family said. (Mike Dirks / Associated Press)

A man working at a date orchard in Riverside County died this week after being stung by a swarm of bees, his family and fire officials said.

Gerardo Balbuena, 49, was working the fields at a date palm orchard in Thermal just after 9 a.m. Monday when he came across a beehive, said his daughter, Marilou Balbuena. He was stung by at least 30 bees, she said.

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After he was attacked, Balbuena went into cardiac arrest, said Tawny Cabral, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Department. He was pronounced dead at thescene.

Balbuena's official cause of death has not been determined. The Thermal resident's daughter said he was allergic to bee stings.

"I can just imagine the pain he felt when he was stung by all those bees," she said.

Balbuena, a native of Morelos, Mexico, worked at Hadley Date Gardens for 27 years, said Albert P. Keck, the company's president. He said Balbuena was a talented and hardworking employee with a loving family.

"He is an immigrant that we should be very proud" of as Americans, Keck said.

Keck said he has been working alongside Balbuena since his family acquired the gardens. He recently told Balbuena they were "going to grow old together."

"The owners and employees at Hadley Date Gardens are devastated by the tragic death and loss of our dear co-worker and