28-Year-Old Hunter Hospitalized After Bear He Shot Plunges Down Hill and Lands on Him

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A U.S. Army soldier stationed in Alaska is recovering from life-threatening injuries he received this weekend when a bear landed on top of him after it was shot along a hilltop, PEOPLE confirms.

William McCormick, 28, was with fellow soldier Zachary Tennyson, 19, when the men opened fire on a bear standing along a ridge near Carter Lake in the Chugach National Forest, state officials detailed in theirdaily dispatchon September 29.

“The pair were hunting in the area and shot a bear above them on a ridge,” troopers wrote in the report. “The bear rolled down the slope dislodging rocks in the process.”

After state troopers and officials from Moose Pass and Bear Creek fire departments responded to the scene, McCormick was flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, where he was treated for “life-threatening injuries.”

Tennyson escaped harm and the bear died during the incident, the news station reported.

Army officials confirmed to PEOPLE that McCormick’s condition has improved since the accident.

“William McCormick is still being treated at the Providence Alaska Medical Center where his condition is listed as fair,” a U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson wrote in a statement to PEOPLE on Tuesday. “That is an upgrade from yesterday when his condition was listed as serious.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the Chugach National Forest is home to both brown and black bears, with the latter being the most common of the two.

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These animals can weigh anywhere between 100 to 600 pounds depending on their age and sex and can measurefive to seven feet tallwhen standing upright.

There are around 100,000 black bears living in the state, Alaska Fish and Game estimates, and thousands are hunted every year.

source: people.com