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Man tried gorging bear's eyes to stop attack

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After his rifle failed him, the expedition leader tried to stop the rampaging bear by gorging its eyes out with his fingers. 

On Tuesday, Briton Michael Reid, 31, told an inquest into the death of his team member Horatio Chapple how he tried to save him by wrestling with the polar bear that night. 

"I remember the bear biting my head and I thought the weakest part is the eyes so I tried to take out the eyes with my fingers, but was unsuccessful," he said. 

Three years ago, 17-year-old Chapple was killed on a Norway expedition as the polar bear slashed its way into his tent and dragged him out, reported The Guardian.

Mr Reid was seriously injured in the attack but managed to fight off the wild animal.

He later shot and killed it with the rifle

Failed measures

The inquest heard that failed security measures had led to the polar bear being able to gain access to the campsite.​

According to The Mirror, a report on the accident said a tripwire system that should have set off a mine as the bear approached was wrongly positioned and patched up with paper clips

Three mines instead of four were deployed around the site. 

Chapple's parents also believed that all expedition members would be equipped with pen flares to scare off bears, but it turned out only the team leaders had them.

Sources: The Guardian, The Mirror

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