A tourist thought to belong to the British Schools Exploring Society has been killed by a polar bear in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in Norway. Four others belonging to the same party and believed to be British have been 'severely injured' in the bear attack.
The attack happened this morning and the victims were rushed to Svalbard capital Lonyearbyen, about 25 miles away.
The four survivors were said to be 'severely injured' and were set to be flown in air ambulances to University Hospital in Tromso.
The British Schools Exploring Society, based in Kensington, London, could not comment today but it was believed that a statement may be made later.
The Svalbard Governor issued a warning earlier this year about polar bears after several were seen close to Longyearbyen.
Svalbard-based restaurant manager Sandra Swresser told The Guardian website: 'It's very sad. We have had attacks before. It happened a year ago when a Norwegian man was attacked. As it was early in the morning I can only suppose the bear attacked them because it was looking for food.'
Another Svalbard resident, Liv Rose Flygel, 55, told The Guardian: 'It's not been the first time. Last summer a man was attacked by a polar bear and there have also been attacks on a man from Austria and a girl. Only the man in the attack last summer survived. He was taken in the mouth of the bear and his friend ran after it and shot it.
'The problem is, when the ice goes, the bears lose their way and cannot catch food. People don't really how dangerous they are. One came down to the sea recently and people were running down to take pictures.'
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/871484-polar-bear-kills-british-tourist-in-norway-attack#ixzz1UA021vAL
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