Bear hunt begins after rare attack in Russia

A young Kamchatka brown bear is shown in his enclosure at the 'Tierpark Hagenbeck' zoo in Hamburg September 20, 2007.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian hunters are pursuing a bear that killed a woman in the centre of a far eastern town on Tuesday before escaping into the forest, news agencies reported.

Professional hunters and security officials launched the bear hunt in Palana, a town of about 4,000 people at the northern end of Kamchatka peninsula, Interfax news agency said, citing local sources.

A male Kamchatka brown bear can weigh 700 kg (1,500 lb) and have a body length of 3 metres.

A handful of bear attacks are reported in the remote region every year, and three people have died in the past 12 months, RIA reported.

But town centre attacks are rare. Palana is the capital of the Koryak administrative region, which was a autonomous region prior to being merged into Kamchatka in 2007.

(Reporting by Conor Sweeney)