Bear attacks berry pickers in Russia: two people killed

In the Irkutsk region, a bear attacked three berry pickers, killing two men, while a third escaped, the press service of the regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

According to police, the incident occurred on September 16 in the Kirensky district. Three residents of Kirensk went into the forest in the area of the village of Krasnoyarovo, more than 80 km from the district center. There, the predator pounced on them. Men aged 65 and 55 were killed. The third man, who managed to run away, reported what had happened.

A group of police officers and hunters was sent to the scene. They found the bodies of the dead and spotted the bear, which behaved aggressively. The hunters fired, but the bear got away. The search for it continues. Additional police forces and resources, as well as those of other law enforcement agencies, have been sent to the site of the attack.

"Police officers strongly recommend that citizens in all districts of the Irkutsk region not neglect measures for their own safety in connection with the increased activity of bears, and also that they refrain from going into the forest," the statement notes.

In the Angara region, bears have been coming out to people more frequently, in connection with which municipalities have been recommended to introduce a state of heightened readiness. Such a regime is currently in effect in Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk and the Angarsk urban district. Every day, dispatchers in the region receive dozens of reports about predators appearing near populated areas.

In one of the cases of an encounter with a bear, a person died — a pensioner from the village of Alymovka in the Kirensky district, who had gone into the forest to pick mushrooms.

It was also reported that during the period of bear activity in the region, 124 decisions were made to regulate the animal's numbers with respect to 305 predators, of which 146 were taken. There are 142 mobile groups made up of 327 people at work.