Polar bear kills Russian technician
2011-09-23 21:08



Moscow - A polar bear killed a technician at a weather station in Russia's far north, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.

The attack took place on Monday near Kheys island, an iced-over outcrop of Franz Josef Land, an Arctic Ocean archipelago some 1 000km from the North Pole.

The bear attacked the man after he stepped outside to haul down a weather balloon at the end of a work day, shortly after sunset.

The victim was "no more than a few steps" from station buildings when the attack occurred, the report said. He died almost instantly, the report said.

Station workers frightened the bear from the scene with warning shots.

A hunting party would attempt to track down the animal and kill it, a station spokesperson said.

Russia and waters to its north are believed to contain one of the world's largest polar bear populations.

The carnivores are protected by Russian law and shooting them without an animal directly threatening human life is a criminal offence.



- SAPA

What were the warning shots for if they were later going to kill it ??

I wondered the same.....

Ski+3