His quick action after a week of hard work saved one person’s life.

In the Alaskan wilderness, he said he was followed for a week by a bear, which first attacked and wounded him. His fate: Coast Guard rescuers traced him from a helicopter, officials announced.

During his flight between the cities of Kotzebue and Nome in Alaska’s far northwest, the man was spotted at a mining camp last Friday – thanks to “an SOS sign above a hut”. Emergency services found the man with injuries to his leg and upper body and was taken to a hospital in Nome. The injured man told his rescuers that the wounds were from a bear attack.

After the attack, the bear kept coming back to the camp at night for a whole week and chased the man. The man’s friends had reported his disappearance after he failed to return to Nom.

The US state of Alaska is sparsely populated and known for its untouched nature. It is home to black, polar and brown bears, including the Kodiak bear, which is believed to be the largest in the world. Bear sightings are not uncommon in Alaska, but attacks on humans are rare.