A polar bear has attacked and killed a woman and boy in a remote village in western Alaska.

State Troopers said they received the report of the attack at 2.30pm local time (11.30pm UK time) on Tuesday in Wales, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, local news station KTUU reported.

“Initial reports indicate that a polar bear had entered the community and had chased multiple residents,” troopers wrote.

“The bear fatally attacked an adult female and juvenile male.”

The bear was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair, troopers said.

The names of the two people killed were not released, with troopers saying they were working to notify family members.

Troopers and the state Department of Fish and Game are planning to travel to Wales once weather makes it possible, the dispatch said.