Oslo:
A polar bear on Friday mauled a group of young British campers in Oslo, Norway, while on a trip to a remote Arctic archipelago, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring four others, before a member of the expedition shot the bear 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 British boy.
The hospital said in a statement that 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 - attracts well-off and hardy tourists with stunning views of snow-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 advices 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 two different incidents, he said.
On average, three bears have been killed every year during the period from 1993 to 2004 in encounters with humans, according to Svalbard authorities.
A spokeswoman for the Svalbard governor's office, Liv Asta Oedegaard, said the attack occurred early Friday morning and the bear was shot by someone in the group of campers. The injured were taken to the hospital in Lonyearbyen, before being transported to Tromsoe.
Oedegaard said campers in the area normally lay down a trip wire around tents when they go to sleep, which sets off an emergency rocket if it is crossed by an animal, but she was unsure whether the British campers' wire had worked properly.
"It is not unusual to camp here, but it is necessary to carry weapons," she said, adding police are now investigating.
Kjersti Noraas, a Svalbard tourism coordinator, said around 30,000 tourists visit the islands every year and although most choose to go on guided tours, "quite a few come to camp in the wilderness."
The site of the attack was only 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Longyearbyen, which is where most tourists stay during their visits.
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 British boy.
The hospital said in a statement that 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 - attracts well-off and hardy tourists with stunning views of snow-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 advices 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 two different incidents, he said.
On average, three bears have been killed every year during the period from 1993 to 2004 in encounters with humans, according to Svalbard authorities.
A spokeswoman for the Svalbard governor's office, Liv Asta Oedegaard, said the attack occurred early Friday morning and the bear was shot by someone in the group of campers. The injured were taken to the hospital in Lonyearbyen, before being transported to Tromsoe.
Oedegaard said campers in the area normally lay down a trip wire around tents when they go to sleep, which sets off an emergency rocket if it is crossed by an animal, but she was unsure whether the British campers' wire had worked properly.
"It is not unusual to camp here, but it is necessary to carry weapons," she said, adding police are now investigating.
Kjersti Noraas, a Svalbard tourism coordinator, said around 30,000 tourists visit the islands every year and although most choose to go on guided tours, "quite a few come to camp in the wilderness."
The site of the attack was only 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Longyearbyen, which is where most tourists stay during their visits.
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