A man in California was stung more than 200 times by a swarm of bees that also killed two of his horses.

Antonio Moreno was tending to his horses in the Jurupa Valley last Friday when he and his animals were attacked by a swarm of these winged insects.

“I am strong. They could have killed me. The doctor told me it was a miracle that I was alive,” Moreno told ABC7 in Spanish.

The attack occurred when Moreno and his 12-year-old son were feeding their horses. His son noticed that one of the horses had been stung by a bee and went to help the animal, but shortly afterwards a swarm of bees descended on Moreno and the horses.

“We fled to the street and took the horses with us, but the bees followed us to the street and kept stinging me,” Moreno told ABC7.

CalRiverside firefighters arrived after the property owner called 911.

Rescue workers in protective gear tried to save the horses, but both died from the stings.

“Everything started to tighten, my throat was tight and my heart felt like it was going to explode,” Moreno told the news agency. “My chest hurt so much, everything hurt.”

Although his son was not seriously injured in the attack, Moreno was in critical condition and over 200 spines were removed from his neck and arms.

“People need to be more alert and careful around bees because they can be dangerous,” warned Moreno. He has since learned that he is allergic to bees and has to carry an EpiPen.

Between 5 and 7.5 percent of Americans are hypersensitive to insect stings and are at risk of anaphylactic shock if stung by a bee or wasp, according to the charity BeeAware.

Each year, 60 people die from severe bee stings in America, and 16 million Americans suffer from a bee allergy that can be life-threatening. According to BeeAware, about 220,000 people are taken to the emergency room each year because of anaphylactic reactions to bee stings.

According to data from Environment America, there are about 1,600 species of wild bees native to California.

Bee attacks are rare in California, but are more common during the summer months. One particularly dangerous species is the Africanized honey bee.

The sting of an Africanized honey bee is more toxic than that of most other bees, and they are more aggressive. According to the California Department of Public Health, a human can receive 10 or more times as many stings if they disturb a colony of Africanized honey bees.

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