Four people, including three children, were injured on Thursday when a grizzly bear attacked a school group that had stopped along a trail near a river in a remote part of British Columbia, the authorities said.
The Nuxalk Nation reported the attack near Bella Coola, a small, unincorporated community on British Columbia’s central coast, on Thursday, the provincial Conservation Officer Service said in a statement on social media.
Teachers with the group managed to fend off the bear using bear spray and a bear banger, a noisemaker that is fired at bears to scare them away, the service said.
It was not clear how many people were in the group or why they had stopped along the trail.
The Conservation Officer Service said the injured people were taken to a hospital in Bella Coola before being taken to Vancouver for further treatment.
The bear, which may have been previously injured, has not yet been located, the service said, and people in the area have been asked to remain indoors until further notice.
The Conservation Officer Service did not identify the school involved in the episode, but the Acwsalcta School acknowledged the bear attack in a statement on Thursday.
The statement expressed the school’s appreciation for “the students, staff, families, emergency responders, and community members who demonstrated extraordinary strength and compassion during today’s difficult and unexpected incident.”
The school said that it would be closed on Friday, but that counseling and other services would be available at its youth center.
The Nuxalk Nation Emergency Department warned people to not go looking for the bear, which it described as “aggressive.”
British Columbia is “bear country,” according to B.C. Parks, which notes on its website that “bear encounters can happen almost anywhere.”
According to the parks agency, black bears “can be found in every part of the province,” and British Columbia is “also blessed with a healthy population of grizzly bears,” which can be found in the Bella Coola Estuary Conservancy.
Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics.
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