A polar bear has killed a Dutch national who was working on a campsite on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic, broadcaster NOS said on Friday.

The man was apparently attacked in his tent in the early hours of the morning and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The campsite’s Dutch owner Michelle van Dijk told NOS that the man was the campsite manager and was in his second season. ‘He was experienced, had all the proper training and knew how things worked,’ she said.

Van Dijk said a warning had been issued about the bear earlier in the day. The campsite also had a guard dog but plans to fence off the area to stop encroaching polar bears had been delayed because of the coronavirus epidemic, she said.

The attack is the sixth fatal incident in almost 50 years in the region. According to AFP, other people at the scene fired shots at the bear, which was later found dead in the car park of the local airport.

Figures from 2015 suggest the archipelago is home to some 1,000 polar bears which are a protected species. People living in the region are advised to carry a gun at all times when they are away from built-up areas.