His family and local media reported Wednesday that a 20-year-old man is in a coma after being stung more than 20,000 times by killer bees in the United States.

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On Tuesday evening, Austin Bellamy remained on life support and was in a voluntary coma at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, in Ohio (north), according to local TV channel Fox 19.

On a fundraising page set up Monday to pay for his medical care, his mother, Shauna Carter, said he was “fighting for his life”.

On Friday morning, Austin Bellamy was chopping down a lemon tree when he unknowingly cut down a nest of killer bees.

These insects, also called African bees, are known to be particularly aggressive.

Austin Bellamy’s grandmother and uncle, who were nearby, witnessed the attack without being able to intervene, as they were engulfed by bees themselves, according to Fox 19.

His grandmother Phyllis Edwards said, “He was yelling, ‘Help me! Help me! Help me! And no one could help him.

“I was going to try to go up the stairs to get to Austin,” she said, “but I couldn’t get there because I was surrounded by bees.”

Shauna Carter said the young man was stung more than 20,000 times and swallowed about 30 bees.

She told Fox 19 that caregivers “have to get the bees out of him until Sunday morning.”

Doctors believe Austin Bellamy will make a full recovery, according to the local outlet.