FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Four people were attacked and injured by a bear in northeast Japan on Tuesday, with all sent to the hospital and conscious, according to the local police and fire department.
At around 6:30 a.m., the fire department received a call from a steel manufacturing company in the city of Fukushima, reporting that a bear had attacked two male employees, one in his 20s and the other in his 60s. The bear then escaped into a neighboring residential area, where it attacked a woman in her 80s at a house and a man in his 60s at a different office building.
The bear is believed to still be in the area. Local police are considering declaring an emergency to allow the animal to be shot. Reports of bear sightings have been coming in since Monday evening.
The attacks occurred on the premises of the company, Fukushima Steel Works Co., and the residential area, located approximately 3 kilometers northwest of JR Fukushima Station. Classes at elementary and junior high schools in the area were canceled after the reports.
