Millions of bees escaped from an overturned truck in the US state of Washington on Friday, sparking warnings from authorities for the public to avoid the swarm.

Emergency officials were helped by several master beekeepers after the truck, which had been hauling roughly 70,000lb (31,750kg) of active honey bee hives, flipped over on a road near the Canadian border.

“The goal is to save as many bees as possible,” Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) said shortly after the incident.

The authorities said the site of the crash would remain closed “until the rescue is complete”.

WCSO urged people to “avoid the area due to the potential of bees escaping and swarming”, and initially said 250 million bees were loose.

After receiving information from one of the beekeepers doing recovery work, it said that a more accurate total was considerably lower and closer to 14 million.

“The plan is to allow the bees to re-hive and find their queen bee,” WCSO said.

Authorities said they hoped this would happen “within the next 24-48 hours”.

In an update posted to social media later on Friday, police thanked “the wonderful community of beekeepers”, saying “over two dozen” had turned up to help with rescue efforts.

“By morning, most bees should have returned to their hives,” WCSO wrote on Facebook.

Footage shared by police showed huge numbers of bees swarming around the overturned lorry.

While some beekeepers aim only to produce honey, many others rent out their hives to farmers who need the insects to pollinate their crops.