Polar bear attack victims in recovery
As tributes pour in for Eton schoolboy Horatio Chapple, who died in a polar bear attack in Norway, his two friends and two expedition leaders undergo surgery and recover in hospital.
In a statement today, Horatio Chapple’s family said he was “strong, fearless and kind”.
The teenager had been “so excited about his plans to be a doctor”, they said, praising his “amazing sense of humour and ability to laugh at himself”.
“He was on the cusp of adulthood and had a clear vision of where his life was going,” the statement said.
Four other members of Horatio’s group were injured in the incident and are recovering in hospital in Norway following surgery.
Adventurer Michael ‘Spike’ Reid, 29, was one of the two leaders of the team that was travelling on a British Schools Exploring Society (BSES) expedition, camped on the Von Postbreen glacier near Longyearbyen on Svalbard, north of the Norwegian mainland.
He was on the cusp of adulthood and had a clear vision of where his life was going. Statement from Horatio Chapple’s family
Mr Reid, from Plymouth in Devon, suffered serious head and neck injuries as he fought off the bear. His family said they were told by the British Embassy that it is believed he shot the bear.
Peter Reid, Michael’s father, said: “We were devastated and very worried. We have been told everyone is saying it was Michael who shot the bear and was a hero. It was very moving. A lot of the day, we’ve been thinking about the family of the boy who died.”
Staff at the University Hospital in Tromso, where the casualties were taken yesterday, said it was hoped they could be transferred to hospital in the UK as soon as possible.
BSES Expeditions said Mr Reid’s fellow leader Andrew Ruck, 27, is believed to be from Aberdeen, while the two young men also injured have been named as Patrick Flinders, 16, from Jersey and Scott Smith, 17, from Cornwall.
Two of the group were understood to have severe head injuries and two had moderate head injuries. All were said to be in a severe but not critical condition.
The four were treated under a general anaesthetic and were being kept in the “awakening area” of the hospital this morning, members of the medical team told a press conference there.
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Families fly out
The British Embassy in Norway said its priority was to reunite the patients with their families in a hospital in Britain.
But some of the parents were believed to be flying out to Tromso, including Terry Flinders, father of injured boy Patrick Flinders.
Patrick was said to have punched the bear on the nose in an attempt to fend it off.
His shocked friends in Jersey spent last night together, giving each other support.
The mother of one of them, Wesley Riant, said they had so far been unable to contact him.
Tributes to Horatio
Scores of messages of condolence were posted on a Facebook tribute page for 17-year-old Horatio by friends, families and well-wishers from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
Rachel Chapple described him on the page RIP Horatio Chapple as an “astonishing nephew”, adding: “I remember the day you were born. You were so sick and we all cried. And you fought and grew and filled your family with so much love.
We miss you so. You have such excellent brothers and we are thinking of you both and sending you Horatio sized hugs. Love Aunt Rachel x
“We miss you so. You have such excellent brothers and we are thinking of you both and sending you Horatio sized hugs. Love Aunt Rachel x.”
The teenager, from near Salisbury, Wiltshire, had ambitions to become a doctor and was described as a “fine young man” by the BSES.
Its chairman Edward 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.”
Eton College described Horatio as a popular pupil whose death was “devastating”. It said in a statement: “The community of Eton College expresses its deep sadness at the death of Horatio Chapple who has been killed in an accident in Norway.
“Horatio was a very well-liked member of the school and respected by masters and boys alike. His loss is devastating to those who knew him. We extend our sympathy and condolences to Horatio’s family and friends.”
Deadly adventure
About 80 people were involved in the expedition, with the young people in the group aged between 16 and 23.
The Svalbard governor’s office said Horatio and the injured were part of a group of 13 in the campsite attacked by the bear.
Mr Flinders told ITV: “I think Patrick was in the middle, (the bear) grabbed hold of his head next, then arm, I don’t know how Patrick got out to be honest.”
Investigations into the incident are under way.
In all honesty, we were more worried last year when Michael went to Afghanistan to climb. This was such a rare and unlikely event, it was inconceivable. Peter Reid
BSES Expeditions, which is based in Kensington, west London, is a registered charity and has close links with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.
The society’s expeditions are described as “a potent combination of personal development through adventurous activity and environmental research in remote wilderness areas”.
The BSES, based at the Royal Geographical Society, said it was “entirely focused” on assisting the families of those affected.
Mr Reid’s father said: “In all honesty, we were more worried last year when Michael went to Afghanistan to climb. This was such a rare and unlikely event, it was inconceivable.”
He added: “We were shaken by the news, but we have a son alive and under very good medical care in Norway. There’s a family in Wiltshire who have lost their son. For us, their grief must be unimaginable”.