Authorities are searching for a grizzly bear following an attack on a school group in Bella Coola, British Columbia, which resulted in injuries to 11 individuals, two critically.
The incident occurred Thursday afternoon on a walking trail near the town, prompting warnings for residents to remain indoors while armed officers attempt to locate the animal.
As of Friday afternoon, four of the injured remain hospitalized, according to the BC Health Services Authority.
According to Veronica Schooner, a parent whose child was present, a male teacher “got the whole brunt of it,” and some children were affected by bear spray used by adults to defend against the attack, Canadian Press reports.
Ms. Schooner confirmed her 10-year-old son was with the school group but was not directly attacked.
“He said that bear ran so close to him, but it was going after somebody else,” she recounted, adding, “he even felt its fur”.
British Columbia Emergency Health Services reported to the BBC that two individuals sustained critical injuries, two others were seriously injured, and seven received on-site treatment.
Officials stated that patients required transportation to a nearby airport for airlift to the nearest hospital.
The group belonged to Acwsalcta School, operated by the indigenous Nuxalk Nation, situated 700km (435 miles) northwest of Vancouver.
“Officers are armed,” the Nation stated on Facebook. “Remain indoors and off the highway.”
“It’s hard to know what to say during this very difficult time. We are so grateful for our team and our students.”
Nuxalk Nation officials have temporarily closed the school and are offering counselling services.
An unsealed federal indictment sheds light on how former Canadian snowboarder Ryan Wedding allegedly runs a billion-dollar drug empire.
Marcel Breton spent 16 years trying to reclaim C$1.2m police seized from hiding spots in his house.
The rubbish raiders are showing reductions in snout length, a sign of early domestication, researchers say.
Investigators accuse former Olympian Ryan Wedding of being a “modern-day iteration” of Pablo Escobar.
The approval of the fiscal plan – the second largest in Canada’s history – allows the prime minister’s minority government to avert an early election.