About 5 million bees fell off a truck this morning in Burlington and the crates broke open on the roadway, allowing the insects temporary freedom and causing chaos at a busy intersection.

The Halton Regional Police say the incident occurred on Guelph Line north of Dundas Street at about 6:15am this morning.

A number of beekeepers quickly showed up on the scene and they were able to corral the vast majority of the bees that had escaped while the intersection was temporarily shut down.  The plan was to leave the hives in the area in the hopes that the remaining bees would re-enter their homes throughout the course of the day.

People had been advised to stay away from the area, while vehicular traffic was advised to keep their windows rolled up.  There were reports of some people being stung by the angry insects.

Less than 100,000 were still on the loose by the early afternoon.