Eisbär attacks a German member of the crew on Spitsbergen | TIME ONLINE

Stockholm (dpa) – A polar bear attacked on Spitsbergen a German member of the crew of the liner "MS Bremen". The animal injured the polar bear guard on the head, said the organizer Hapag-Lloyd cruises.

The man went ashore Saturday with other guards – but without tourists. Earlier, a spokesman for the Northern Norway Emergency Services said that the attack had occurred when a group of tourists landed in a small boat on an island. Spitsbergen is a group of islands belonging to Norway.

Ole Jakob Malmo of the Svalbard police told the German press agency that a helicopter had transported the injured person to Longyearbyen, the capital of the Arctic Archipelago. The man was approachable and out of danger, added Negar Etminan of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Other guards had fired on the polar bear "for reasons of self-defense". "Other crew members and pbadengers are not affected by the incident."

Police Officer Malmo said that the incident in the northernmost part of the Svalbard Archipelago is under investigation. The shot bear should be autopsied at Longyearbyen. Authorities in the region regularly warn of the danger posed by polar bears. In 2015, a polar bear wounded a Czech who wanted to observe a total eclipse. The last deadly attack of a polar bear occurred in 2011, when a British student was killed.

The four to five polar bear observers aboard the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises ships should ensure that the pbadengers can get ashore safely, said spokeswoman Etminan. They are specially trained and armed. The Saturday incident occurred when the guards wanted to install a ground station to secure a gateway. Pbadengers would observe polar bears not from the land but from the edge of the boat.

Cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is recruiting for trips to Longyearbyen with the promise that pbadengers could experience the "pure Arctic" there. "Where polar bears rule the wilderness," says the website, "nature determines the course of turbulent days." A ten-day trip with the "MS Bremen", which can take 160 pbadengers, costs at least 5810 euros.