Two teenagers badly mauled by a bear while on a survival skills course in the Alaskan wilderness were Sunday in a hospital in Anchorage with “serious, life-threatening injuries,” the Alaska Dispatch reported.

Seven teens were attacked while crossing a river Saturday night, by a brown bear with a cub.

A statement from Alaska State Troopers and the Department of Public Safety said two of the victims had life-threatening injuries, two were seriously hurt and three others all had “minor injuries or had exposure-related issues.”

The teenagers were identified as, Samuel Boas, 16 of Westport, Conn.; Noah Allaine, 16, of Albuquerque, N.M.; Shane Garlock, 16, of Pittsford, N.Y.; Joshua Berg, 17, of New York, N.Y.; Samuel Gottsegen, 17, of Denver, Colo.; Simeon Melman, of Huntington, N.Y.; and Victor Martin, 18, of Richmond, Calif.

The seven were with other teens and instructors from the National Outdoor Leadership School.

They had been in the wilderness for about one month, KTUU-TV reported, when the attack happened at about 8:30pm local time Saturday as they crossed a river about 120 miles north of Anchorage.

The group activated an emergency beacon after the attack and victims were evacuated by air.

Four teens were taken to the Mat-Su Regional Hospital in Palmer for treatment, while three others were transported to the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Megan Peters said the teens told troopers that as they crossed a river, one in front of the other, the people at the back heard those at the front of the line screaming there was a bear.

The two teens at the front of the line — identified in one report as Berg and Gottsegen — received the brunt of the bear attack. After the attack was over the teens were able to set up a camp, provide first aid to each other and activate the beacon.

(Source: News Core)