Woman killed by bear in Polish forest, son and local government say

A 58-year-old woman has been killed by a bear in a remote mountainous area in Poland, according to her son and the local government.

The incident took place when the woman and her 27-year-old son were walking separately in a forest near the town of Płonna in the south-eastern Bieszczady region.

A firefighter at the scene told news channel TVN24 that according to the woman's son, he was on the phone to her when he heard her scream, "Bear, bear!" and the phone went dead. The son raised the alert but by the time emergency services arrived the woman was dead.

The firefighter said the woman had "lacerated and extensive" head injuries.

Bukowsko Commune urged people in the area to refrain from entering nearby forest areas "due to the fatal bear attack on a woman in Płonna" in a social media post.

Poland is home to around 100 brown bears, with most living in Bieszczady. Deadly encounters between humans and the animals are extremely rare.

The last recorded deadly attack in Poland took place in 2014, according to local media.

Paweł Giba, a spokesman for the local emergency services, said firefighters received the call from the son around 10:30 local time (08:30 GMT). Fire crews and police were dispatched but access to the site was hampered by difficult terrain and a lack of phone reception.

A local police officer, Sgt Anna Oleniacz, told Polish news website Onet: "Just as the bear attacked the 58-year-old woman, her 27-year-old companion had stepped away for a moment. When he returned and saw that she was injured, he called for help."

The victim's second son told TVN24: "She must have stepped on it. When a bear lies down, it's like a mound of dark earth. Once it hits, there's no escape."

A prosecutor and a doctor were at the scene on Thursday afternoon.

Izabela Jurkowska-Hanus, the district prosecutor in Sanok, which covers Bukowsko Commune, told TVN24 that as of that time, there were no other circumstances that suggest a cause of death other than the one reported.

According to reports, the mother and son were in the woods collecting antlers during the stag shedding season.

Wojciech Jankowski, a spokesman for the Lesko Forest District where the attack occurred, told Onet: "At this time of year, bears that have awakened from their winter sleep come to places like this, close to human homes, in search of food. This was an unexpected encounter for both the bear and the human."