British bear attack victims return home

Two members of an expedition who were injured in a polar bear attack in which a 17-year-old boy was killed will return to the UK today, the trip organisers said.

Scott Bennell-Smith and Patrick Flinders will be flown back to Britain under the care of a specialist medical evacuation team, the British Schools Exploring Society (BSES) confirmed, and admitted to hospital here.

The organisation asked for the pair’s privacy to be respected.

Later the BSES said that the eight other uninjured members of the group would be returning to the UK in the next 24 hours.

The remaining groups, called Fires, involved in the trip have returned to base camp and arrangements are being made for them to come home within the next few days.

Relatives of those on the trip and BSES staff will meet the expedition members, along with specialists such as doctors and counsellors if needed.

Schoolboy Horatio Chapple died in the horrific attack in Svalbard, Norway on Friday, and four others were injured when the massive predator attacked their group.

The five men and boys were part of a group camping on the Von Postbreen glacier near Longyearbyen on Svalbard, north of the Norwegian mainland.

They had been researching climate change by studying glaciers and documenting changes since previous expeditions.

Jane Owen, the British ambassador to Norway, visited the four survivors and said they were all coping well.

Yesterday BSES announced it had decided to end the expedition on the advice of the Svalbard authorities and in accordance with the wishes of the group leaders.

Police are investigating the incident.

A spokesman for the governor of Svalbard said: “It is now known that the polar bear was killed by a single rifle shot. It has now been transported to Longyearbyen and will be investigated by specialists.”