Polar bear attack victims rescued by LAR

(CH) A few days after the fatal polar bear-attack in Svalbard (Norway) that killed a 17-year-old and injured four more people, 2 severely, Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR) flew the first victim back home to the UK.

On Sunday, two LAR ambulance jets landed in Tromso. After his emergency surgery, Patrick Flinders a 16-year-old who suffered severe skull fractures was safely transported to Southampton, where he will remain under intensive care. According to LAR, the flight and patient did not encounter any complications.

A second victim, a 27-year-old man who worked as a supervisor in Svalbad, was supposed to be flown back on Sunday by LAR. He suffered serious bite and claw wounds in his temple and around his ears as well as injuries to facial nerves and meninges (membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord). Although his serious condition meant that he could not be flown back with LAR to the UK on Sunday as scheduled, he should be stable enough to return home on Monday.