Polar bear attack kills British boy in Norway
Source: Agencies |
August 6, 2011, Saturday
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A POLAR bear yesterday mauled a group of young British campers on a trip to a remote Arctic archipelago where visitors are warned to carry guns in case of attack, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring four others before being shot dead.
The British Schools Exploring Society said in a statement that 80 people, most of them between 16 and 23, were part of a group camping on a remote glacier in Norway's Svalbard region when the animal attacked.
The society confirmed that two trip leaders, Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck, and two young people, Patrick Flinders and Scott Smith, had been injured and were being flown to Tromsoe in northern Norway for treatment. The society, an adventure travel charity, did not release the identity of the deceased, but local officials said it was a 17-year-old boy.
The hospital in Svalbard said in a statement the patients have moderate to severe injuries, including head injuries.
The archipelago - which has a population of around 2,400 people and nearly 3,000 polar bears - attract well-off and hardy tourists with stunning views of ice-covered mountains, fjords and glaciers.
Visitors are urged to carry high-powered rifles whenever venturing outside Svalbard's capital Longyearbyen and polar bear safety brochure advises campers against setting up their tents in areas where bears roam.
Polar bear researcher Magnus Andersen at the Norwegian Polar Institute said the number of people involved in the attack make it the most serious he has seen. The last time someone was killed by a polar bear at Svalbard was in 1995, when two people were killed in separate incidents.
On average, three bears have been killed every year between 1993 and 2004 in encounters with humans, Svalbard authorities said.
The British Schools Exploring Society said in a statement that 80 people, most of them between 16 and 23, were part of a group camping on a remote glacier in Norway's Svalbard region when the animal attacked.
The society confirmed that two trip leaders, Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck, and two young people, Patrick Flinders and Scott Smith, had been injured and were being flown to Tromsoe in northern Norway for treatment. The society, an adventure travel charity, did not release the identity of the deceased, but local officials said it was a 17-year-old boy.
The hospital in Svalbard said in a statement the patients have moderate to severe injuries, including head injuries.
The archipelago - which has a population of around 2,400 people and nearly 3,000 polar bears - attract well-off and hardy tourists with stunning views of ice-covered mountains, fjords and glaciers.
Visitors are urged to carry high-powered rifles whenever venturing outside Svalbard's capital Longyearbyen and polar bear safety brochure advises campers against setting up their tents in areas where bears roam.
Polar bear researcher Magnus Andersen at the Norwegian Polar Institute said the number of people involved in the attack make it the most serious he has seen. The last time someone was killed by a polar bear at Svalbard was in 1995, when two people were killed in separate incidents.
On average, three bears have been killed every year between 1993 and 2004 in encounters with humans, Svalbard authorities said.
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