Community members were put on lockdown when a vehicle crash resulted in two million honeybees swarming an area in Orange County, Texas, on Sunday.

The story unfolded when an 18-wheeler carrying 406 hives lost control and flipped over into a ditch in Mauriceville, Fox 10 reported Tuesday.

The hives, which each housed 60,000 to 80,000 bees, ruptured and some of the bees escaped. As a safety precaution, emergency officials told neighbors near Colony Drive to stay inside while crews worked to remedy the situation.

“Authorities have not yet released the condition of the truck driver or reported how many stings first responders and neighbors sustained during the recovery operation,” the Fox article said.

Officials contacted a local apiary business for help because crews did not have the proper gear to wear as they worked the scene.

Christy Ray of Queen Bee Supply gave them the proper clothing, and the business later wrote in a social media post, “Not something you ever want to see, but so nice to see beekeepers helping beekeepers. From commercial outfits to backyard beekeepers grateful for everyone that came out and helped!”

The post featured images of crews and beekeepers trying to collect the bees and clean up the mess:

Meanwhile, CBS Chicago reported so many of the bees had gathered on one branch that it snapped:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website detailed the importance of bees, noting they are “essential to healthy, biodiverse ecosystems”:

While there are native bees in the United States, some of which are managed for commercial production of many high-value and specialty crops, honey bees are more prolific and easier to manage, especially on a commercial level for pollination of a wide variety of crops.

Honey bees are a critical link in U.S. agricultural production. About one mouthful in three in our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination. Commercial production of many high-value and specialty crops like almonds and other tree nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables depend on pollination by honey bees. But managed honey bees have come under serious pressures from many different stresses, which has resulted in beekeepers losing many colonies.

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is using innovation and state-of-the-art technologies to enhance overall honey bee health and improve bee management practices.

KFDM said one of its photojournalists was stung one time while filming the crash site in Texas.