MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Three members of a family, including a child, have been injured by a polar bear in a rare attack in the far north of Siberia, Russian officials said Monday.

Local police “received a report of a polar bear injuring people 40 kilometers from the village of Nosok” at a fishing spot, the regional interior ministry said on Telegram.

Nosok is in the Krasnoyarsk region inside the Arctic Circle.

“Three citizens, born in 1983, 2015 and 2006 have been injured in the polar bear attack,” the ministry said.

Polar bear attacks on humans are considered extremely rare but experts say shrinking sea ice caused by global warming is pushing them to approach inhabited areas in search for food.

The family was evacuated to safety and given immediate assistance. 

The ministry did not say how serious their injuries were but said one person may require hospitalization.