A miner was rescued by a passing Coast Guard helicopter after being allegedly harassed by a bear for seven straight nights in the tundra near Nome, Alaska. The chopper spotted the SOS, an internationally recognized sign for help, on top of his cabin and came to his rescue.

The man, who was not identified by the Coast Guard in a statement, was taken to waiting rescue personnel in Nome, according to an Associated Press report.

The helicopter crew was flying from Kotzebue to Kodiak on July 16 when it saw the SOS sign on top of the building. 

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According to the Coast Guard statement, the crew circled again over the mining site and spotted a guy raising two arms in the air, another recognised indication of distress.

“At some point, a bear had dragged him down to the river,” Lt. Cmdr. Jared Carbajal, one of the pilots of the Coast Guard helicopter, said in an interview on Wednesday, according to the New York Times. “He had a pistol. He said that the bear kept coming back every night and he hadn’t slept in a few days.”

After the aircraft landed, the guy requested medical help, claiming he had been mauled by a bear a few days before.

According to the Coast Guard, the individual looked to have a leg injury and bruises on his body.

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According to the complaint, the guy claimed the bear had returned to his tent and tormented him every night for the preceding week. Friends had reported him overdue when he hadn’t returned to Nome the day before he was found.

The Coast Guard didn’t say what kind of bear was involved in the incident.

Nome, a Bering Sea coastal town on Alaska’s western coast, is located roughly 535 miles (861.00 kilometres) northwest of Anchorage.