Cuttack, Jan. 11 A swarm of bees invaded Barabati Stadium this afternoon, disrupting the Ranji Trophy match between hosts Orissa and Assam for a few minutes. The stadium is scheduled to host an ODI between India and West Indies on January 24.

The invasion lasted four to five minutes as the bees moved from the south and crossed the playing area during the post-lunch session around 2.30 pm. The players and umpires were forced to duck for cover as the winged creatures made their way to the playing area.

“Luckily, no one was injured, as the two umpires were quick enough to sound an alert and ask the players to go to the ground with their face down,” said Satya Mohanty, joint secretary of the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA).

The swarm of bees was on its way to honeycombs on a gallery at the Mahanadi end. The bees had produced several honeycombs on the outer roof of the extended gallery.

“Honeycombs have been a part of the gallery structure for over a decade”, said an employee at the stadium.

“This is our first incident with bees,” said OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera. “We have initiated the necessary steps to prevent similar bee invasions in future,” he added.

The OCA secretary said the honeycombs would be taken care of and work was already on to prepare Barabati Stadium for the big match.

The OCA has sought the assistance of bee collectors and experts to do away with the honeycombs.