A bear attacks group of U.S. tourists in Romania

A bear attacked a group of U.S. tourists on a remote trail in the Carpathian Mountains, killing a woman and injuring two other people.

Photo: A bear attacks group of U.S. tourists in Romania

The attack happened Saturday night at around 10 p.m. (2000 GMT) when the group of six tourists were on their way to a cabin about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Bucharest.

The victim, a 31-year-old woman, died from her injuries shortly after the arrival of rescuers, state news agency Rompres reported, citing local police officials.

The group initially spotted the bear near a cabin and chased it away when it tried to approach them, but the bear appeared later on the trail and attacked the group, Paul Sasu, a local police officer, told Rompres.

The bear initially attacked a 26-year-old woman, then after she fell down and the other tourists threw stones, it switched its attention to a man. It bit him on the leg, and then mauled to death the 31-year-old woman, despite desperate efforts by the others in the group who threw stones at the bear.

The bear had earlier bitten a Romanian tourist on the shoulder and attacked sheep, Andi Mihai, one of the members of the rescue team, told news television Realitatea TV.

Romania is home to about half of Europe's brown bear population, but attacks on humans are rare. Three years ago, two men died when they were attacked by a rabid bear.

Authorities were searching for the bear to euthanize it.

Details on the identity and hometowns of the victims were not immediately available.