Grizzly bear attacks school group in Canada's British Columbia province, injuring 11
Eleven people, including children, were injured in a grizzly bear attack that occurred in the small, remote community of Bella Coola in British Columbia, Canada, on Thursday, according to regional and local officials.
Officials said they received a call at around 1:46 p.m. local time about an animal attack along a trail in Bella Coola, with two ambulances and a community paramedic responding to the scene.
Seven people were treated at the scene and four patients were transported to the hospital, according to the Provincial Health Services Authority.
The British Columbia Conservation Office Service, which was deployed to the scene along with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said three children were among the injured.
Acwsalcta School, an independent school in Bella Coola run by the Nuxalk Nation, said it will be closed Friday due to the "bear incident," adding that "it's hard to know what to say during this very difficult time."
The victims were part of a school group of students and teachers who stopped along a trail near the river when a grizzly bear emerged from the forest and attacked. Multiple teachers physically intervened, using bear spray and a bear banger, to drive the bear away, the BCCOS said on Friday
Four patients remain in the hospital as of Friday, officials said.
"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we wish them a full and speedy recovery," said BCCOS Insp. Kevin Van Damme said in a statement.
British Columbia Premier David Eby thanked the teachers who intervened for their "heroism" and their "willingness to confront this vicious animal." He also said he sends his "heart out to the parents and the kids and the loved ones of everyone who's been injured."
Nuxalk Nation said the animal "has still not been found" after warning of an "aggressive bear" in the Four Mile subdivision, a forested and residential area in the Bella Coola Valley where Acwsalcta School is located.
Preliminary information suggests the offending bear may have been previously injured, officials said.
"The conservation officers, I'm assured, are working hard to identify and find the bear," Eby said in a statement on Friday.
Officials also urged people in the area to stay indoors, warning them to not go looking for the bear and to “not go down any trails.”
British Columbia is home to an estimated 15,000 grizzly bears, which makes up more than half of the total grizzly population in Canada, according to a 2012 assessment and status report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
ABC News' Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
