July 26, 2011
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A grizzly bear attacked seven students on a backpacking course in a remote area of Alaska, injuring four including one who remains in serious condition, a spokesman for the school said Monday.
The attack happened late Saturday in the western Talkeetna Mountains, north of Anchorage, as the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) students were hiking on their own, near the end of a month-long course.
"The students had crossed or were in the process of crossing a creek when they came in contact with a bear that attacked the group," said the NOLS spokesman.
"They were following accepted bear safety practices -- calling out to warn bears of their presence and carrying bear spray," he added, saying they set off a locating beacon to alert Alaska State Troopers who evacuated them by chopper.
The students were on the 24th day of a 30-day backpacking course that teaches outdoor travel and camping skills, and the first day of their student expedition, in which students hike as a group without instructors.
By Monday the spokesman said one student remained in serious condition at Providence Hospital in Anchorage, while another was in good condition, and the others had been discharged.
