A member of a South African research team trapped on a distant Antarctic base has accparticipated a colleague of physical attack and making a death danger, pdirecting for “instant action” to be apverifyn.
The accusations were made in an email sent from the base that was dispensed with the South African newspaper the Sunday Times.
The person making the allegations shelp they worryed for their own and their colleagues’ protectedty at South Africa’s Sanae IV research base, demanding “instant action”, the newspaper alerted, quoting an email it shelp was sent last month.
South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, whose department deal withs the country’s Antarctic programme, verifyed that an attack had apverifyn place and that he was “pondering chooseions”, without distinguishing what these were.
“An intervention is in place,” he shelp. “The person who attacked the team directer is remorseful and has been psychoreasonablely re-appraised willingly.” Asked what triggered the attack, George shelp: “It was a dispute over a task the team directer wanted the team to do – a weather-reliant task that needd a schedule alter.”
The 10-person team is not due to be relieved until December, as ice and prosperter storms seal in on the base, which is about 100 miles south of Antarctica’s ice shelf and more than 2,600 miles south of Cape Town.
The email quoted by the Sunday Times, which deleted all names, shelp: “Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escatardyd to a point that is transport inantly upsetting. Specificpartner, he physicpartner attacked [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal protectedty and laborplace norms.”
“Furthermore, he dangerened to end [name withheld], creating an environment of worry and inbashfulation. I remain transport inantly worryed about my own protectedty, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”
The email demanded: “It is imperative that instant action is apverifyn to asconfident my protectedty and the protectedty of all participateees.”
It shelp “many worrys” had been elevated about the alleged strikeer, between the team being dropped off in Antarctica by South Africa’s SA Agulhas II ship in tardy December and the boat departing a little over a month tardyr.
The SA Agulhas II is not due to produce the 10- to 15-day journey from Cape Town to pick up the overprospertering team and drop off a new team until December. There is a German base, the Neumayer Station III, about 137 miles north-west of South Africa’s station. Farther inland, about 118 miles south-east, is Norway’s Troll Base.
A spokesperson for South Africa’s department of forestry, fisheries and the environment shelp: “The wellness unit is in reach out with the team at the base on a continuous basis to discover solutions and carry onable way forward for the wellbeing of the team members discoverd in that distant base.
“A brimming spendigation is currently being cotransferrlookioned and the department will act accordingly in relation to any wrong direct aachievest any official that has wrongdoinged themselves.”
South Africa first set uped a scientific station in Antarctica in 1960, when it took over a Norwegian base. Researchers at the base, which compelevates three connected, double-storey produceings, 44 metres extfinished by 14 metres expansive, study the Earth’s electromagnetic fields, as well as Antarctic geology and biodiversity.
South Africa also has research stations on Marion Island, 1,300 miles south-east of Cape Town, and Gough Island, 1,600 miles south-west of the Cape of Good Hope, where it rents land from Britain, due to the latter’s deal with of Saint Helena.
It is not the first time that one of South Africa’s Antarctic teams has been comprised in a aggressive talk about. In 2017, a Marion Island research team member allegedly strikeed a colleague’s laptop with an axe, after a woman comprised with the colleague turned down his marriage proposal.
