A grizzly bear has attacked a group of schoolchildren and teachers on a walking trail in British Columbia, Canada, injuring 11 people, two of them critically.
The attack happened late on Thursday in Bella Coola, 435 miles (700km) north-west of Vancouver. The Nuxalk Nation said the “aggressive bear” remained on the loose and police and conservation officers were on the scene.
“Officers are armed. Remain indoors and off the highway,” the First Nation said in a social media post.
Two people were critically injured and two had serious injuries, the emergency health services spokesperson, Brian Twaites, said. The others were treated at the scene.
Veronica Schooner, a parent of one of the children, said a lot of people tried to stop the attack but one male teacher “got the whole brunt of it” and was among the people taken by helicopter from the scene.
Schooner’s 10-year-old son, Alvarez, was in the class of fourth- and fifth-graders and was so close to the animal “he even felt its fur”, she said.
“He said that bear ran so close to him, but it was going after somebody else,” Schooner said.
She added that some children were hit with bear spray as the teachers fought off the bear and Alvarez was limping and his shoes were muddy from running for safety. Her son’s thoughts, however, were with his classmates.
“He keeps crying for his friends, and oh my goodness, right away he started praying for his friends,” she said.
Acwsalcta school, an independent school run by Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola, said in a Facebook post that the school would be closed on Friday and counseling made available.
By AP
“It’s hard to know what to say during this very difficult time. We are so grateful for our team and our students,” the post said.
