A Japanese man was chased down and mauled by a bear before it smashed through a glass door in a violent attack. Police and fire department officials rushed to the scene in the Sasakino district of Fukushima in northeastern Japan on Tuesday after receiving an emergency call from the Fukushima Steel Works reporting bear attacks on two employees.
Attack Details
Security camera footage shows a black bear appearing and chasing an employee near the entrance. As the man in his twenties tries to flee, the bear throws him to the ground. In the video, the bear then moves into the factory compound after smashing through a glass door, and injures a second male employee in his 60s.
The bear then made its way north to a residential area, where it attacked an 80-year-old woman. It eventually headed to another manufacturer located about 500 meters northwest of the Fukushima Steel Factory and attacked a 60-year-old man. The three men sustained minor injuries, while the woman had moderate wounds, but none were considered life-threatening, the fire department said.
Ongoing Search
The bear had not been caught as of Tuesday afternoon and was believed to be inside the second company compound. Police remain on high alert while nearby schools were forced to close.
Rising Bear Incidents
A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in sightings as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation. In the last fiscal year to March, bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data. The animals were seen entering homes, roaming near schools and rampaging through supermarkets and hot spring resorts on an almost daily basis.
Officials have adopted a roadmap of bear population management, calling for systematic culling. Under the plan, the number of municipal bear control staff will triple to 2,500 within five years, while the number of bear traps will double. Record sightings have been reported again this year as the bears emerge from their winter slumber, according to local media.
Recent Attacks
In April, bear attacks killed one person and injured five others, according to the environment ministry. There have also been more than a dozen bear sightings reported on the outskirts of Tokyo this year, with a Russian man in his 30s reportedly mauled as he hiked in the city last month.
Safety Advice
An environment ministry manual advises that anyone encountering a bear should not panic, move slowly and avoid turning around and running. As a last resort, the manual says anyone attacked should turn face down, ball up and cover their neck. 'The point is to save yourself from a fatal wound,' according to the manual.
