Bears (illustrative)
Bears (illustrative)Arutz Sheva photo: Flash 90

A 17-year-old British boy has been killed by a polar bear while travelling with a tourist group in Norway, Sky News reported Friday.

According to the report, the boy is Horatio Chapple. Four others were seriously injured in the attack. They were travelling with the British Schools Exploring Society, Sky News said.

They were attacked while on a trip to the Svalbard islands and were part of a larger group of around 80 people. At the time of the attack, the victims were staying in a campsite containing 13 people.

“We deployed a helicopter with medical and police personnel, upon arrival one person was declared dead and four people injured,” deputy governor of Svalbard Lars Erik Alfheim told Sky News, adding, “It was an organized group. They had a camp set up and this attack happened in the camp.”

A spokeswoman for the governor of Svalbard said explorers usually set up trip wires which fires off a rocket if animals enter the camp.

The injured are being treated at University hospital in Tromso. They suffered head injuries but are now stable.

Norwegian authorities said in a statement that the bear, which weighed 250kg, had been killed.

Sky News reported that earlier this year the governor of Svalbard issued a warning about animals after several were spotted close to Longyearbyen, the nearest major town.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles is Israeli time.)