The inquest into the death of a schoolboy who was mauled by a polar bear is due to open today.
Seventeen-year-old Horatio Chapple died and four other people were injured in the attack in the Svalbard Islands in August 2011.
Andrew Ruck, a former social anthropology student from Aberdeen University, was one of the leaders of the expedition.
Mr Ruck, who also worked as an intern at the city’s Befriend a Child charity, suffered permanent damage to his sight after the 39-stone bear grabbed him by the head with its jaws.
Patrick Flinders, 17, and Scott Bennell-Smith, 16, were also injured when the bear attacked the tent the pair were sharing with Eton pupil Horatio.
The second expedition leader, Michael Reid, was finally able to end the attack by shooting the bear dead, after his rifle failed to fire four times.
Mr Reid suffered head and face injuries during the incident, and required surgery to repair a broken jaw, fractured skull and damaged eye socket.
The group were part of a British Schools Exploration Society (BSES) expedition researching climate change by studying glaciers.
They were camping on the Von Postbreen glacier near Longyearbyen on Svalbard, north of the Norwegian mainland.
An investigation by Norwegian officials ruled that Horatio’s death resulted from a “number of unfortunate circumstances” including a tripwire failing to fire blank warning cartridges.
At the time, a spokesman for Svalbard’s governor Odd Olsen Ingero said: “Tripwire flares had been set up around the tent camp, and the group had two signal pens and a rifle.
“The equipment had been tested earlier, but the tripwire did not detonate when the bear entered the camp.
“The governor does not find that BSES or the individuals acted with a degree of negligence qualifying for criminal liability. The case is therefore dismissed as no criminal offence.”
Horatio’s parents, David and Olivia Chapple, later lodged an appeal but prosecutors in Norway upheld the original decision that no one should be prosecuted.
The inquest is will be held at Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Office in Salisbury, Horatio’s home town.