At least one dead as bears go on rampage

At least one woman was thought to have died and another was missing after bears escaped from their enclosures in a park in northern Japan, police said Friday, as they struggled to contain the situation.

An unknown number of creatures were on the loose in the snow-covered Hachimandaira bear park in Akita prefecture, which keeps 38 animals, most of them brown bears.

"We cannot go close to the park because we don't know which cages are open, and how many bears are on the loose," a spokeswoman for Akita police told AFP.

Emergency services were alerted at 10am (0100 GMT) to bear attacks in the park, which was closed to tourists for the winter.

Of the three staff who were there at the time, one man managed to escape, but one woman was known to have been badly mauled and another was missing, the spokeswoman said.

"There is an unresponsive female at the facility, but emergency workers cannot go close because there might be bears on the loose," she said.

"It appears that she is dead. Her injuries are so severe that it is difficult to identify her" from afar, she said.

As of early afternoon, hunters had killed four of the bears, and were trying to kill another one near the facility, she said, adding that authorities were yet to figure out exactly how many bears had left their cages.

"We have asked local residents and school children to stay indoors," she said.

During warmer months, tourists visit the park where they are permitted to feed the animals, which are native to Japan.

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