Scientists at a remote research base in Antarctica have pleaded for their rescue, alleging assault, sexual harassment and death threats from a team member they say is mentally unstable.
The problems at the isolated SANAE IV base were first reported by South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper, which said it had seen an email from a team member to authorities last month claiming the man had attacked the base leader and made threats.
The email pleaded for help.
“His behavior has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing,” the email said, according to the Sunday Times. “I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”
The report alleged the man made a death threat and accused the team member of sexually assaulting another.
“Furthermore, he threatened to kill [another team member], creating an environment of fear and intimidation,” the unnamed researcher wrote.
The writer said it is now “imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure my safety and the safety of all employees.”
According to the BBC, a team of nine researchers were due to spend the Antarctic winter at SANAE IV, which is run by the South African National Antarctic Program and operated by the South African National Antarctic Expedition.
The base sits approximately 170 kilometres from the edge of the Antarctic ice shelf, more than 4,000 kilometres from South Africa. The average temperature at the base sits at -23 C in the winter months, and wind speeds can reach more than 200 kilometres per hour.
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South Africa’s Ministry of Environment, which oversees the research missions, said in a statement Monday night that the alleged assault on the base leader was reported on Feb. 27, and officials and counsellors intervened remotely “to mediate and restore relationships at the base.” They were speaking with team members almost daily, it said.
“The alleged perpetrator has willingly participated in further psychological evaluation, has shown remorse and is willingly cooperative,” the ministry said, adding that he had written a formal apology to the victim of the alleged assault. It said the allegations were being investigated. No one was identified.
The ministry said all team members had undergone evaluations ahead of the trip to ensure they were able to cope with the “extreme nature of the environment in Antarctica” and the isolation and confinement, and no problems were identified.
“It is not uncommon that once individuals arrive at the extremely remote areas where the scientific bases are located, an initial adjustment to the environment is required,” it said.
South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, whose department manages the country’s Antarctic program, told the Guardian that “an intervention is in place” and that the alleged assault was triggered by “a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do — a weather-dependent task that required a schedule change.”
The next planned visit by a supply ship is in December, according to the South African National Antarctic Program. It takes the ship around 10 days to travel from Cape Town.
Authorities have said they had decided not to evacuate anyone from SANAE IV, where the onset of unpredictable weather conditions meant the team was now confined to the base.
Previous problems have been reported at another of South Africa’s remote research bases on Marion Island, a South African territory near Antarctica.
In 2017, a member of a research team there smashed up a colleague’s room with an axe over an apparent love triangle, according to a report to South Africa’s Parliament. Lawmakers said it appeared the researchers were living in highly stressful conditions.
The National Science Foundation, the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Antarctic Program, published a report in 2022 saying 59 per cent of women in the U.S. program said they’d experienced harassment or assault while on research trips in Antarctica.
— With files from The Associated Press
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