By Sky News

Millions of swarming honey bees are on the loose in California after a truck carrying crates of the insects flipped over on a motorway.



The California Highway Patrol says eight to 12 million bees escaped from the crates in which they were stored and swarmed over an area of Highway 99.

The stung officers, firefighters and tow truck drivers trying to clear the accident.

The incident, near Sacramento, closed the road for a period on Sunday.

Highway patrol officer Michael Bradley said a tractor trailer flipped over while entering the motorway on its way to Yakima, Washington.

The flatbed was carrying bee crates each filled with up to 30,000 bees.

Officer Bradley said several beekeepers driving past the accident stopped to assist.

The bees had been used in the San Joaquin Valley to pollinate crops.