Three killed, five injured by wild bear

Three persons were killed and five others seriously injured in an attack by a wild bear after which angry villagers allegedly beat the animal to death in Odisha's Keonjhar district today.

The incident occurred at Khadiadiha village in Sadar forest range area after the female wild bear sneaked into the area, Sadar forest ranger Antaryami Behera said.

The bear first attacked a villager when he had gone to his garden. The animal dragged the man for a distance and inflicted grievous injuries virtually all over his body and he died, the official said.

Some other persons, including some forest personnel who had rushed to the site to rescue the man, were also attacked by the wild bear. Most of them sustained serious injuries and they were taken to the district headquarters hospital here for treatment, he said.

Two of them - including a forest guard were declared dead at the hospital, the ranger said.

Out of the five injured persons, three were shifted to a Cuttack hospital where their condition was stated to be critical, officials said.

As efforts by the forest personnel to trap or drive away the wild animal yielded no results, irate villagers allegedly beat the bear to death, forest officials said.

Forest department staff recovered the carcass and took it to Sadar forest office for autopsy, they said.

Villagers staged a demonstration demanding adequate compensation to the victims.