Polar bear mauls British youth to death in Arctic

Horatio Chapple was part of a group of 13, mainly aged between 16 and 23, on a British Schools Exploring Society (BSES) trip near a glacier on the Norwegian island of Svalbard when the attack happened. Four others were hurt, two seriously, including two of the trip leaders.

Last night, BSES chairman Edward Watson described Horatio, understood to be a pupil at Eton, as a “fine young man” and said he had planned to read medicine at university.

Mr Watson said: “Horatio was a fine young man who wanted to go on to read medicine after school. By all accounts he would have made an excellent doctor.

“We and the Norwegian authorities are currently establishing the full circumstances of his tragic death and will not be releasing this until we have discussed this fully with the family.”

The attack occurred near the Von Postbreen glacier, part of the Svalbard archipelago, yesterday morning.

The party managed to contact the Svalbard Governor’s office to call for assistance. Eventually, the injured were taken by helicopter to University Hospital in Tromso.

Those injured were trip leaders Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck, as well as Patrick Flinders, from Jersey, who is believed to be 16, and Scott Smith.

Horatio’s family from near Salisbury, in Wiltshire, were too upset to speak last night.