A Westport teen was involved in a bear attack during a teenage outdoor education course in Alaska and stayed with his injured classmates for hours, waiting for help to arrive.
The students, having progressed to the point of being on their own in the vast Alaska wilderness, were lined up single file on Saturday night to cross a river when the grizzly burst with fury into the front of the line, badly mauling two in the group and injuring two more.
Samuel Boas, 16, of Westport was not hurt and stayed behind with his injured classmates.
The teens were in a group of seven participating in a 30-day backcountry course through the National Outdoor Leadership School when the attack occurred in the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage. They were rescued early Sunday after activating their emergency locator beacon and tending to their most seriously wounded.
The two students at the front of the line took the brunt of the attack, trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
Bruce Palmer, a spokesman for the organization, said the students injured worst with bear bite wounds are Joshua Berg, 17, of New City, New York, and Samuel Gottsegen, 17, of Denver.
They were being treated at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Hospital spokeswoman Crystal Bailey said both are listed in serious condition after troopers earlier said the injuries were life-threatening.
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When the bear broke off the attack, the teens activated a personal locator beacon they carried to be used only for an emergency, Peters said.
The Rescue Coordination Center called troopers around 9:30 p.m. to report the activated signal. A trooper and pilot in a helicopter located the students in a tent shortly before 3 a.m., but decided the two most seriously injured would need a medical transport aircraft with a medically trained crew.
The trooper and Boas stayed with the badly injured teens for four hours until more rescuers arrived in a specially equipped helicopter, which flew them to the Anchorage hospital, Peters said.
Boas has training as an emergency medical technician.
The teens were in the 24th day of their course when the attack occurred. There was no instructor with them because that far into the course, they've learned enough survival skills, Palmer said.
