3 people attacked by polar bear in Sanirajak expected to make recovery

Three people are recovering after being attacked by a polar bear in Sanirajak, Nunavut, on Tuesday.

Local RCMP said in a news release Wednesday that they were dispatched that afternoon around 2:25 p.m. local time after a report of a polar bear attack near cabins south of the former Distant Early Warning Line site.

While police were on their way, a motorist advised them three people had been taken to the community's health centre.

The bear was found dead near the cabins. The release said the wildlife officer who went to the scene with police took possession of the bear and took it to their office.

Sanirajak, which sits on Foxe Basin, has a population of about 800 people. 

All three people who were attacked were transported from the site. One man was flown to Ottawa while two women were taken to hospital in Iqaluit.

Police said in the release that all three were "badly injured" but said they are expected to recover. 

Although polar bear attacks are rare in Nunavut, there have been fatal encounters with bears in recent years.

In 2018, 31-year-old Aaron Gibbons was killed by a polar bear outside Arviat, while protecting his children.

That same summer, 33-year-old Darryl Kaunak was killed outside Naujaat while out hunting with two others.