Two killed, one injured in bear attack in Odisha

Two persons were killed and another received grievous injuries in a wild bear attack inside a forest in Odisha's Sambalpur district, police said on Monday. The incident took place near Taal village under the Badbahal forest range of Rairakhol sub-division when five people had gone inside the forest to collect honey on Sunday.

However, a bear had also gone to the spot for honey. On seeing the five, the bear attacked them and the men fought with the animal to save their lives. While two of them died and another received injuries, two others climbed a tree and escaped the attack of the wild bear. The bear also sustained injuries in the fight and died on the spot, a forest official said.

The officials of the forest department rushed to the spot and seized the bodies. The injured person was rushed to the Rairakhol sub-divisional headquarter hospital and later shifted to Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) at Burla, he said. The deceased have been identified as Cheru Munda (55) and Krushna Munda (48), police said.