Latest news with #Transfagarasan
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Motorcyclist mauled to death by bear while on holiday posted selfie with one before the fatal attack
An Italian man who was mauled to death by a bear while on a motorcycling trip in Romania took selfies with the animals before the fatal attack. Omar Farang Zin had posted photos and video of bear encounters while riding along Romania's famous Transfagarasan road the day before his death. Romanian authorities said he got off his motorbike and tried to feed a bear, local news outlets reported, before it dragged him into a ravine. Later, authorities told Romanian news outlets they found pictures and close-ups on his phone of a bear approaching him on his phone. Armand Chiriloiu, director of the Arges Forestry Directorate told Observator News: "He got off the motorcycle and offered the bear food. The Italian tourist's phone was also found, which contained some pictures prior to the attack. With the bear approaching... pictures, close-ups.' The bear then attacked him, authorities said, dragging Mr Zin into the forest while other motorcyclists at the scene called emergency services. Responders, including firefighters, forestry authorities, and police found the man's body, which had been dragged into a ravine by the bear. But they quickly realised they were also in danger, according to Observator. Dragos Onea-Arges from Mountain Rescue told the news outlet: "The bear followed us the whole time. She was very agitated. She attacked us a few times too.' The bear was later shot dead. The day before his death, Mr Zin posted several up-close videos and photos of encounters with bears on the road. In one video, he rides past a bear on his motorbike, commenting: 'Look, a bear! How beautiful'. In another clip he watches a bear in a gravelled area as the bear turns to approach him. 'It's coming towards me,' he says. Italian media report that Mr Zin lived in the town of Samarate, in the northern region of Lombardy. Milano Today reported he worked at Malpensa Airport, and dozens of tributes flowed in on his social media page, many of whom said they would remember him for his smiling and kind personality. Nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the past two decades, the environment ministry has said. Sightings of bears are common and local media regularly report bear attacks on people and livestock. In 2024, Romania's parliament doubled the annual bear kill quota to 481 per year. The move was taken to control the size of the bear population and to remove animals that have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food. It came just a week after a 19-year-old hiker died after she was attacked by a bear on a popular trail in the Carpathian mountains in central Romania. The teenager called emergency services as she was attacked. Just a few months prior, a 72-year-old Scottish tourist was mauled by a bear in Arges county after rolling down her car window to take a photo with the animal. Wildlife experts have said bear attacks have increased because of human behaviour as the shrinking of the animals' habitats due to construction, logging and climate change.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Motorcyclist mauled to death by bear while on holiday posted selfie with one before the fatal attack
An Italian man who was mauled to death by a bear while on a motorcycling trip in Romania took selfies with the animals before the fatal attack. Omar Farang Zin had posted photos and video of bear encounters while riding along Romania's famous Transfagarasan road the day before his death. Romanian authorities said he got off his motorbike and tried to feed a bear, local news outlets reported, before it dragged him into a ravine. Later, authorities told Romanian news outlets they found pictures and close-ups on his phone of a bear approaching him on his phone. Armand Chiriloiu, director of the Arges Forestry Directorate told Observator News: "He got off the motorcycle and offered the bear food. The Italian tourist's phone was also found, which contained some pictures prior to the attack. With the bear approaching... pictures, close-ups.' The bear then attacked him, authorities said, dragging Mr Zin into the forest while other motorcyclists at the scene called emergency services. Responders, including firefighters, forestry authorities, and police found the man's body, which had been dragged into a ravine by the bear. But they quickly realised they were also in danger, according to Observator. Dragos Onea-Arges from Mountain Rescue told the news outlet: "The bear followed us the whole time. She was very agitated. She attacked us a few times too.' The bear was later shot dead. The day before his death, Mr Zin posted several up-close videos and photos of encounters with bears on the road. In one video, he rides past a bear on his motorbike, commenting: 'Look, a bear! How beautiful'. In another clip he watches a bear in a gravelled area as the bear turns to approach him. 'It's coming towards me,' he says. Italian media report that Mr Zin lived in the town of Samarate, in the northern region of Lombardy. Milano Today reported he worked at Malpensa Airport, and dozens of tributes flowed in on his social media page, many of whom said they would remember him for his smiling and kind personality. Nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the past two decades, the environment ministry has said. Sightings of bears are common and local media regularly report bear attacks on people and livestock. In 2024, Romania's parliament doubled the annual bear kill quota to 481 per year. The move was taken to control the size of the bear population and to remove animals that have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food. It came just a week after a 19-year-old hiker died after she was attacked by a bear on a popular trail in the Carpathian mountains in central Romania. The teenager called emergency services as she was attacked. Just a few months prior, a 72-year-old Scottish tourist was mauled by a bear in Arges county after rolling down her car window to take a photo with the animal. Wildlife experts have said bear attacks have increased because of human behaviour as the shrinking of the animals' habitats due to construction, logging and climate change.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Tragic biker tourist mauled to death by brown bear moments after taking smiling selfie and vid with ferocious wild beast
A MOTORCYCLIST was mauled to death by a bear moments after taking a smiling selfie with the deadly wild beast. Omar Farang Zin, 48, was on holiday in Romania when he initiated the unwise encounter. 5 5 5 The Italian was riding along the spectacular Transfagarasan road - famously crowned the "most beautiful in the world" by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. He encountered a bear on the route, uploading a video of a shaggy beast peering onto the road, and returned the next day in hope of spotting another. Omar got what he was looking for when he met a bear with cubs wandering around a car park, and stopped to feed it. That turned out to be a terrible mistake. A photo found his mobile shows Omar, kitted out in sunnies a helmet for his pleasure ride, grinning and pointing to a brown bear who is standing just metres away. He also took a video of the predator as it prowled around the area, flicking menacing glares at the camera. The biker can be heard saying: "Here is the bear! How beautiful! It's coming towards me," in his native Italian. Omar uploaded the video to Facebook - but that would be the last thing he ever did. Just moments later, the bear charged him and unleashed a ferocious attack. The beast dragged Omar out of the car park and about 60 metres into a ravine, where it mauled him to death. Bloodthirsty bear leaves only woman's severed head behind in vicious attack as victim's last moments captured on CCTV Passing motorists witnessed the harrowing scene and immediately called the emergency services. Police officers, firefighters and forest rangers all rushed to the scene - but Omar could not be saved. The rescue teams managed to recover his body, which was covered in bite wounds, and took it away for a post-mortem. Armand Chiriloiu, director of the forest authority, told Romanian newspaper Cancan: 'He got off his motorbike and offered some food to the bear. 5 5 'The Italian tourist's phone was also found, which contained some photos taken before the attack. "As the bear approached, he approached. With photos, close-ups.' The area was cleared following the fatal encounter and the bear was later shot dead. He also took a video of the bear as he passed it on his bike. The clip shows a shaggy bear peering onto the road over a barrier as Zin trundles past on his bike.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Motorcyclist killed in bear attack on Romanian scenic mountain road
BUCHAREST (Reuters) -A motorcyclist was mauled to death by a bear on a road in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania on Thursday, emergency service officials said, the latest attack in the country with the European Union's largest population of brown bears. Romania has a brown bear population of 10,000 to 13,000, preliminary results of a multi-year DNA study showed this year, and authorities are struggling to keep residents and tourists in mountain towns safe. Police and emergency services said in a joint statement that tourists had alerted them to Thursday's attack on the Transfagarasan road in the central county of Arges. The bear had dragged the motorcyclist down a ravine, they said. There were no details about the motorcyclist's identity. Almost 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last two decades, the environment ministry has said. Sightings of bears are common and local media regularly report bear attacks on people and livestock. Last year, Romania's parliament doubled the annual bear kill quota to 481 bear kills per year to control the size of the bear population and to remove animals that have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food. Wildlife experts have said bear attacks have increased because of human behaviour as the shrinking of the animals' habitats due to construction, logging and climate change. Many bears are also attracted by rubbish dumps on the outskirts of cities and by discarded food. Officials have not done enough to step up prevention measures, including electric fences and better trash management, wildlife experts said.
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Motorcyclist killed in bear attack on Romanian mountain road
Bears in Romania have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food. (EPA Images pic) BUCHAREST : A motorcyclist was mauled to death by a bear on a road in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania today, emergency service officials said, the latest attack in the country with the European Union's largest population of brown bears. Romania has a brown bear population of 10,000 to 13,000, preliminary results of a multi-year DNA study showed this year, and authorities are struggling to keep residents and tourists in mountain towns safe. Police and emergency services said in a joint statement that tourists had alerted them to today's attack on the Transfagarasan road in the central county of Arges. The bear had dragged the motorcyclist down a ravine, they said. There were no details about the motorcyclist's identity. Almost 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last two decades, the environment ministry has said. Sightings of bears are common and local media regularly report bear attacks on people and livestock. Last year, Romania's parliament doubled the annual bear kill quota to 481 bear kills per year to control the size of the bear population and to remove animals that have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food. Wildlife experts have said bear attacks have increased because of human behaviour as the shrinking of the animals' habitats due to construction, logging and climate change. Many bears are also attracted by rubbish dumps on the outskirts of cities and by discarded food. Officials have not done enough to step up prevention measures, including electric fences and better trash management, wildlife experts said.
