Bear Attack in Canada’s Banff National Park Leaves Two People Mauled to Death

Two people were killed in a bear attack at a Canadian national park on Friday, officials said. 

The Banff National Park, located in Alberta, said in a statement posted to Facebook that officers with Parks Canada, the Canadian agency that oversees all national parks in the country, received an alert of a bear attack on Friday evening and “immediately mobilised” to the scene.

They made it to the site of the reported bear attack hours later at around 1 a.m. and found two people already mauled to death. 

The response time was amplified by inclement weather, which prevented responding officers from traveling to the area by helicopter. Instead, the Facebook post said, officers had to travel “on ground.”

On site, responding officers also found a “grizzly bear that displayed aggressive behaviour.” They had to “euthanize the bear on-site to ensure public safety,” the Facebook post said. 

The bodies of the two victims were transported out of the park when police arrived a few hours later. 

“This is a tragic incident, and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” the Facebook post said. 

After the incident, Parks Canada issued the area to be closed until further notice.