A grizzly bear has attacked a group of schoolchildren on a hike in Canada.
At least one person has died and 11 people injured after the incident in Bella Coola on Thursday.
The children were on a hike with teachers when the ‘aggressive’ bear attacked.It is still on the loose.
Nuxalk Nation, the self-governing indigenous community in the area, said police and conservation officers were deployed in efforts to find the animal.
Samuel Schooner, chief of the Nuxalk Nation, said: ‘We are devastated for the individuals and families impacted by the bear incident.
‘All individuals involved are receiving medical support and our priority is to ensure that they are safe.’
People were warned to stay indoors and not to go looking for the grizzly bear.
Brian Twaites, the emergency health services spokesperson, said two people were critically injured and two had serious injuries while others were treated at the scene.
According to Veronica Schooner, a parent of one of the children, a lot of people tried to stop the attack.
But one male teacher ‘got the whole brunt of it’. He and others were airlifted from the scene.
Ms Schooner said her son Alvarez, 10, was so close to the bear ‘he even felt its fur’, adding: ‘He said that bear ran so close to him, but it was going after somebody else.’
Some children were sprayed with bear spray as teachers defended them, she said. Alvarez was limping following the attack.
‘He keeps crying for his friends, and oh my goodness, right away he started praying for his friends,’ said Ms Schooner.
The group were from Acwsalcta School, an independent school run by Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola.
The school said in a statement: ‘It’s hard to know what to say during this very difficult time. We are so grateful for our team and our students.’
According to the Winnipeg Sun, the attack is the sixth incident this year involving bears.
In July, a man was bitten and scratched by a grizzly bear near Fort Nelson while a hunter died after fighting off a grizzly in East Kootenay in October.
The incident comes after troops were sent to northern Japan earlier this month to help contain a surge of bear attacks, which have killed at least 12 and injured more than 100 since April.
Bears have shown up near schools, train stations, supermarkets and even a hot springs resort, with attacks by the animals reported almost daily across Japan – but mostly in the north.
‘Every day, bears intrude into residential areas in the region and their impact is expanding,’ deputy chief cabinet secretary Fumitoshi Sato told reporters. ‘Responses to the bear problem are an urgent matter.’
The Defence Ministry and Akita prefecture signed an agreement on a troop dispatch, allowing soldiers to set box traps with food inside, transport local hunters and help with the disposal of dead bears.
The soldiers will not use firearms to cull bears, officials said, despite Akita governor Kenta Suzuki saying local authorities were ‘desperate’ for manpower.
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