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full screenOn Monday, authorities urged residents not to move outside residential areas, especially during the morning and evening, due to the fact that the bear was still on the loose. Archive image from Sweden. Photo: Mikael Fritzon/TT
A Slovakian tourist town has declared a state of emergency after five people were injured in a bear attack. Among the injured is a child.
The attack took place on Sunday in the town of Liptovský Mikulás, which is located near popular ski resorts.
– The bear spent around 20 minutes in the city center, attacked five people and returned to the forest, says city spokesperson Viktória Capcíková.
– Five people, including a ten-year-old child, were torn and bitten. The oldest person treated in hospital is a 72-year-old man.
On Monday, authorities urged residents to stay away from residential areas, especially in the morning and evening, because the bear was still on the loose. Groups of hunters, police and wildlife experts are looking for the bear with orders to kill it.
On Friday, a woman from Belarus died in another bear attack in the district of Liptovský Mikulás in Slovakia.
The number of bear attacks has increased in Slovakia, according to figures from the Ministry of the Environment. Last year there were 20 events, compared to eight in 2021.