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Two polar bears have killed a worker at a remote military radar site in the Far North, according to a release by Nasittuq Corporation, which manages the facility.
“It is with deep sorrow that Nasittuq Corporation confirms a tragic incident occurred (on Aug. 8) at one of our work locations on Brevoort Island, Nunavut,” the company said in a press release. “An attack by two polar bears has resulted in the loss of one of our valued employees. Nasittuq employees responded to the scene and one of the animals was put down.”
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Brevoort Island is an uninhabited island just east of Baffin Island, close to the Arctic Circle. It is about 46 kilometres long and between five and seven kilometres wide.
It is the site of BAF-3, one of the earliest installations of the North Warning System (NWS), an early-warning air defence system that replaced the earlier Distance Early Warning Line in the late 1980s. The site consists of a radar tower, communications facility and a small storage building.
The company did not provide details of the attack, nor did it release the name of the individual who was killed.
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“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and colleagues affected by this loss,” the company said in its release. “Nasittuq Corporation is providing support to the family of the deceased during this difficult time. Additionally, we are offering counseling services to all employees affected by this.”
It added: “The safety and well-being of our employees is our highest priority, and we are deeply committed to ensuring a safe working environment. We are working closely with local authorities and regulatory agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.”
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The Nasittuq web site notes that the NWS, which comprises 47 radar sites, detects aircraft and cruise missiles flying and spans over 5,000 kilometres across Canada’s North.
Nasittuq was awarded the contract to operate the NWS in 2001. In 2021, it re-organized its corporate structure to become an Inuit-controlled corporation registered as an Inuit Firm on the Nunavut Inuit Firm Registry.
Polar bear attacks are very rare. The last fatalities in North America were in 2023, when a woman and her year-old son were killed in the remote town of Wales, Alaska, by a bear that chased several other residents before being shot and killed. Prior to that, there were two fatal attacks in 2018, at Lyon Inlet and on Sentry Island, both in Nunavut.
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