The casualties were flown to the University Hospital of North Norway. Photo: UNN CC-BY-ND-2.0
The young explorer who died after being attacked by a polar bear on an Arctic island has been named as Horatio Chapple.
The 17-year-old from Salisbury in Wiltshire was a student at Eton College in Windsor, Berkshire.
He was with a group of 12 other young people and adult leaders which was part of a bigger group from the British Schools Exploring Society on an expedition on the Von Postbreen glacier on Spitsbergen, the largest island on the Norwegian Arctic peninsula of Svalbard.
BSES chairman Edward Watson said: “Horatio was a fine young man hoping to go on to read medicine after school. By all accounts he would have made an excellent doctor.
“We and the Norwegian authorities are currently establishing the full circumstances of his tragic death and will not be releasing this until we have discussed this fully with the family.
“Our thoughts are with them.”
The Svalbard authorities will be working with BSES representatives to determine why the anti-polar-bear protection failed to stop the animal.
Although it is an offence to kill polar bears in the Norwegian Arctic, visitors are allowed to shoot the animals in self defence.
Official guidance from the Svalbard Governor’s office says: “Tents and other alien elements in the area raise the bear’s curiosity. The camp should be protected by trip-wire with flares or dogs that give the alert. Another alternative is to have a ‘bear-watch’ routine.”
It is understood the BSES party has set up trip wires but these do not appear to have deterred the bear.
An official statement said: “Policemen from the Governor of Svalbard are investigating the incident in which a 17-year-old British boy was killed by a polar bear this morning.
“It was a tent camp with in total 13 persons from a British school that was attacked. The four persons that were injured are 16, 17, 27 and 29 years old.
“The eight persons that are physically unharmed are being taken care of by competent personnel in Longyearbyen.
“The killed polar bear has now been transported to Longyearbyen. It was male of 250kg [40 stones].”
The governor’s office said parents should ring BSES on 0207 5913141
Patrick Flinders, another of the young expedition members, of Jersey, was injured after trying to fend off the animal, which struck him across his head and arm with its paw.
Scott Smith and leaders Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck were also flown to the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsø.
The hospital said: “Four patients injured in the polar bear attack on the Spitsbergen island are being treated at the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsø.
“They have moderate to severe injuries, including head injuries.
“The four patients received primary emergency care at UNN Longyearbyen [on Spitsbergen] and were transferred from Longyearbyen to Tromsø for further treatment this afternoon. Extra personnel were mobilised to ensure sufficient capacity at UNN Tromsø.
“Transfer to hospitals in Great Britain will be arranged as soon as possible in medical terms.”
The BSES runs has been running overseas expeditions for young people since it was founded in 1932 by a member of Captain Scott’s final Antarctic expedition of 1910-13.
A spokesperson for the society said: “We continue to gather further information of this tragedy and our executive director, Lieutenant General Peter Pearson is en route to Svalbard.”
