Polar bear watch 'may have saved schoolboy'

A fatal polar bear attack on a teenager on a school trip to Norway may have been avoided if a “bear watch” had been in place, according to the findings of an inquiry.

Horatio Chapple was attacked while asleep in his tent as his group of young explorers camped on a remote island in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on August 5, 2011.

The 17-year-old from Salisbury, Wiltshire — a student at Eton College — suffered fatal injuries to his head and upper body and died at the scene when the 250kg animal struck in the early morning.

Four others were hurt before the animal was shot dead by one of the group leaders.

An independent report commissioned by British Exploring — previously named British Schools Exploring Society– which organised the trip, was published Monday as an inquest opened into the boy’s death.

The report concluded that the “rare occurence” of a polar bear attack on a camp had been “a remote possibility but not foreseeable”.

However it said the trip wire system used to protect the group had been defective, with pieces of equipment missing.

“In any event with hindsight it is not in fact an adequate substitute for a bear watch which, if established, would have been likely to warn of the approach of the bear in time to prevent the attack,” the report said.

It also recommended a complete overhaul of rifle training ahead of any future trips.

Describing the attack the Steel report said: “It would appear likely that the bear must have ripped open the tent on Horatio’s side. It then dragged Horatio out causing serious, indeed probably mortal wounds to his head.”

Former High Court judge David Steel completed his report in July 2012 but its publication was delayed until the inquest could be heard.

British Exploring Chairman Edward Watson said “important lessons” had been learned from the inquiry and “significant changes” made to the way the society operates.

Speaking at the start of the inquest Horatio’s parents said they had thought he would be equipped with a pen flare, a working trip wire around his camp site and a weapon available to a trip leader.

However, the expedition did not have enough pen flares for frightening approaching bears and there was a shortage of stakes for the tripwire which had been fixed with paperclips.

“We believed that the staff at BSES would do as they said and act responsibly to protect the children under their care,” David Chapple told the hearing.

“We were never told the bear trip wires only sometimes work.”

Chapple’s earlier family issued a statement saying they had raised “serious criticisms about the manner in which the expedition was conducted”, the BBC reported.

The family paid tribute to the “unfaltering courage” of the promising student who had hoped to train be a doctor after leaving the prestigious private boys’ school, near Windsor in Berkshire.

The others injured in the attack were the group’s leaders Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck, and two other participants in the trip, Patrick Flinders, and Scott Bennell Smith.

The wounded were helicoptered to safety after raising the alarm by satellite phone.

They were among a group of 13 young people who were on the Von Postbreen glacier on Spitsbergen island as part of a larger BSES expedition into the Norwegian wilderness.

An investigation by Norwegian officials concluded that the death resulted from “a number of unfortunate circumstances” and stressed that the BSES did not act negligently or illegally.

The inquest held before Assistant Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon Ian Singleton is expected to last for five days.

Polar bear watch 'may have saved schoolboy'