Overview
- A 58-year-old woman was fatally attacked in remote woodland near the village of Płonna in the Bieszczady mountains on Thursday.
- Her son called for help after hearing her screams, and rescue teams reached the hard-to-access site by quad vehicles, but she died at the scene.
- Police secured the area with armed officers and urged local residents to stay indoors while they handled the immediate danger.
- Fatal encounters with brown bears are rare in Europe, and Polish media note the previous deadly case in the country was reported in 2014.
- Official 2024 data count about 100 brown bears in Poland, though some reports cite roughly 350, with most living in protected southern mountain regions.