Kasaragod school teacher dies in hornet attack two weeks before retirement

Kanhangad: A school teacher, two weeks before retirement, died after being attacked by hornets while clearing undergrowth on his property on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as P Vijayakumar (56), a resident of Chamundikkunnu in Panathady panchayat.

Vijayakumar was a high school English teacher at Government Higher Secondary School, Balanthode in Panathady. He was clearing undergrowth on his farmland at Thumbodi, located across the road from his house, along with a group of workers, when the incident occurred, said former panchayat member Preethi Manoj.

The hornets nesting inside an earthen mound were disturbed during the clearing work, she said. They swarmed out and attacked Vijayakumar and the four other workers.

The teacher collapsed after being stung multiple times. Workers who were with him rushed him to a private hospital at Bandadukka, where he was declared dead.
The workers who were stung sought treatment, but their injuries are not serious, she said.

Colleagues said Vijayakumar was due to retire from service on May 31, and the school had already held his farewell function.
Former PTA president Saji Kuruvinavelil said Vijayakumar had played an active role in bringing students to the school right from Class 1.

He is survived by his wife Sreeja, a rural ambassador for the Union government’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, daughter Anjana Vijayan, a naturopathy practitioner who got married three months ago, and son Vishnu Vijayan, a third-year veterinary student.