Beekeepers swarmed to the rescue this weekend, saving millions of honeybees after a semi-truck carrying their hives crashed.

The truck was hauling 70,000 pounds of beehives when it overturned in a rural county in northern Washington state, letting loose about 14 million bees, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the pre-dawn crash on Friday, May 30. So did master beekeepers – two dozen of them, according to the sheriff's office.

Beekeepers began the careful work of rebuilding about 300 beehives, said Derek Condit, one of the beekeepers who responded to the scene.

"Today, I had the incredible privilege of helping to rescue millions of honey bees," he said in a Facebook post with a video showing workers in protective white suits and hoods, their backs slathered in bees as millions swarmed in the air, searching for their queen.

In a statement, the sheriff's office thanked the "wonderful community of beekeepers" who showed up to "help ensure the rescue of millions of pollinating honey bees would be as successful as possible."

One-third of North America's native bee species are at risk of extinction, according to a study published in the scientific journal of the National Academy of Sciences.

Flowering plants need pollinators like bees to aid their reproductive process. About 90% of wild flowering plants and 75% of food crops around the world depend on pollination to produce fruits and seeds, according to the National Park Service.

The bee recovery work at the crash site was complete by Sunday morning, according to the sheriff's office, though it wasn't immediately clear how many of the bees were saved.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beekeepers swarm to rescue millions of escaped bees after truck crash

Reporting by Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect