August 14, 2024 – 05:42
Two polar bears have killed a worker at a remote radar station in the Arctic in Canada's northern territory of Nunavut, reports say. BBC.
The attack took place last week on Brevoort Island, southeast of Baffin Island.
After the attack, other workers arrived at the scene and killed one of the bears, the company said in a statement.
The employee, who has not been named, works for logistics company Nasittuq Corporation. The company operates defence radar stations on behalf of the Canadian government.
“We are working closely with local authorities and regulators to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident,” the company said. “The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority and we are deeply committed to providing a safe working environment,” they wrote.
The site is one of dozens of Northern Warning System outposts in northern Canada, CBS News reported. The 5,000-kilometer network is designed to detect aircraft or missiles entering the area.
The BBC noted that polar bears attack humans extremely rarely, but this was at least the second fatal attack since 2023. Last year, a woman and her one-year-old son were killed by a polar bear in a village in Alaska.
By the way, there are about 17,000 polar bears in Canada – according to the Canadian government, that's about two-thirds of the species' total population.
