ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A polar bear killed a woman and boy Tuesday afternoon in the northwest Alaska community of Wales, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers received a report of a polar bear attack around 2:30 p.m., troopers said in an online report. According to initial accounts, a polar bear came to the village and chased several residents, troopers said.
The bear killed a woman and a boy, troopers said. Another Wales resident shot and killed the bear “as it attacked the pair,” troopers said.
The two people who were killed in the mauling weren’t identified in the report, and troopers said officials are working to notify their next of kin.
Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will travel to Wales as soon as the weather allows, troopers said. Wales is located on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, northwest of Nome.
Fatal polar bear attacks are extremely rare in Alaska. In 1990, a polar bear killed a man in the North Slope village of Point Lay. Biologists later said the animal showed signs of starvation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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