Authorities in Alaska are investigating a second fatal bear mauling involving a black bear in as many days.
Officials with Pogo Mine located near Fairbanks say one contract employee was mauled to death Monday and a second received non-life-threatening injuries in an attack at an exploration site.
The mine says in a statement that the two worked for a contractor hired to take geological samples at the underground gold mine about 90 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
A helicopter with a paramedic and physician’s assistant on board was dispatched to the attack scene several miles from the main camp, and the injured worker was flown to a Fairbanks hospital.
The mine recalled all 24 of its employees working in the field after the mauling was reported.
The company says Alaska Wildlife Troopers directed mine personnel to kill the bear, which they did.
It’s the second fatal mauling since Sunday in the nation’s largest state. A 16-year-old boy competing in a mountain race just south of Anchorage was mauled by a black bear on Sunday.
