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A member of a South African research team on a remote Antarctic base has accused a colleague of physical assault and making a death threat, pleading for “immediate action” to be taken.
The accusations were made in an email sent from the base that was shared with the South African newspaper the Sunday Times.
The person making the allegations said they feared for their own and their colleagues’ safety at South Africa’s Sanae IV research base, demanding “immediate action”, the newspaper reported, quoting an email it said was sent last month.
South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, whose department manages the country’s Antarctic programme, confirmed that an assault had taken place and that he was “considering options”, without specifying what these were.
“An intervention is in place,” he said. “The person who assaulted the team leader is remorseful and has been psychologically re-evaluated willingly.” Asked what triggered the alleged assault, George said: “It was a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do – a weather-dependent task that required a schedule change.”
The 10-person team is not due to be relieved until December, as ice and winter storms close 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 removed all names, said: “Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms.”
“Furthermore, he threatened to kill [name withheld], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”
The email demanded: “It is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure my safety and the safety of all employees.”
It said “numerous concerns” had been raised about the alleged attacker, between the team being dropped off in Antarctica by South Africa’s SA Agulhas II ship in late December and the boat departing a little over a month later.
The SA Agulhas II is not due to make the 10- to 15-day journey from Cape Town to pick up the overwintering 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 said: “The wellness unit is in contact with the team at the base on a continuous basis to find solutions and sustainable way forward for the wellbeing of the team members located in that remote base.
“A full investigation is currently being commissioned and the department will act accordingly in relation to any wrong conduct against any official that has misconducted themselves.”
South Africa first established a scientific station in Antarctica in 1960, when it took over a Norwegian base. Researchers at the base, which comprises three linked, double-storey buildings, 44 metres long by 14 metres wide, 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 leases land from Britain, due to the latter’s control of Saint Helena.
It is not the first time that one of South Africa’s Antarctic teams has been involved in a violent controversy. In 2017, a Marion Island research team member allegedly attacked a colleague’s laptop with an axe, after a woman involved with the colleague turned down his marriage proposal.
