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Siberian train drivers say wanted to scare bear away

The train driver and his assistant told transport prosecutors that they could not use the train horn as it was broken and thought that the train's noise would scare the bear away

© ITAR-TASS/Igor Ageenko

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Bear run over by train in Siberia survives

KRASNOYARSK, December 8. /TASS/. The drivers of the train which ran over a brown bear in Siberia last week claim they wanted to scare the animal away from the city of Norilsk, a senior aide to the West Siberian Prosecutor's Office, Oksana Gorbunova, said on Monday.

A 20-second footage showing the bear running away from the train along the snow-covered track was posted on YouTube on Thursday. Two voices can be heard on the video shouting "Squash him!" while the train driver seemed to be making no attempts to slow down. The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday on the train track operated by the Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel.

The train driver and his assistant told transport prosecutors that they could not use the train horn as it was broken and thought that the train's noise would scare the bear away, Oksana Gorbunova said.

"They did not mean to hurt the bear" who was earlier spotted in the outskirts of Norilsk, she added.

Norilsk Nickel spokesperson Tatiana Smirnova said that the animal had survived as no traces of blood or body were found on the track. Moreover, some witnesses had seen the bear after the incident.

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