Tokyo: Bears killed two women after escaping from their enclosures in a park in northern Japan, police said on Friday, admitting that they still did not have a handle on the incident as night fell.
An unknown number of creatures were on the loose in the snow-covered Hachimantai bear park in Akita prefecture, which keeps 38 animals, most of them brown bears.
By early evening, local hunters had shot dead six of the animals, all within the gated park campus, and had recovered two bodies, thought to be those of workers at the facility, an Akita police spokesman said.
Emergency services were alerted after 10 am (0100 GMT) to bear attacks in the park, which was closed to tourists for the winter.
Of the three staff members who were there at the time, one man managed to escape, but one woman was known to have been badly mauled and another went missing.
Emergency workers later recovered the two bodies, the police spokesman said, with local media reports saying that they were those of the two female workers.
The police spokesman said the incident was not yet over.
"It's difficult to say exactly how many bears left their cages," he said, stressing that emergency workers were scrambling to contain the situation.
It took several hours before emergency workers could even go into the bear park for fears of being attacked by bears on the loose.
Police have asked local residents and school children to stay indoors.
During warmer months, tourists visit the park where they are permitted to feed the animals.
An unknown number of creatures were on the loose in the snow-covered Hachimantai bear park in Akita prefecture, which keeps 38 animals, most of them brown bears.
By early evening, local hunters had shot dead six of the animals, all within the gated park campus, and had recovered two bodies, thought to be those of workers at the facility, an Akita police spokesman said.
Of the three staff members who were there at the time, one man managed to escape, but one woman was known to have been badly mauled and another went missing.
Emergency workers later recovered the two bodies, the police spokesman said, with local media reports saying that they were those of the two female workers.
Advertisement
"It's difficult to say exactly how many bears left their cages," he said, stressing that emergency workers were scrambling to contain the situation.
Advertisement
Police have asked local residents and school children to stay indoors.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP Left, BJP, Creating Unrest: Mamata Banerjee On Midnight Attack At Hospital 'Don't Club Us With Others,' Says Manipur's Thadou Tribe, Waits For Peace Plan More Monkey Pox Cases Likely To Hit Europe Soon, Says WHO Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.