Pictures have emerged of a group of scientists believed to be the team pleading for rescue after an alleged assault at a remote base on Antarctica.
The nine men and women are understood to be those stationed at South Africa’s Sanae IV base in the wintery snowscape, a cutting-edge research station which is a 15-day journey away from civilisation.
Harsh weather conditions mean scientists can be stuck there, unreachable, for much of the year, and the overwintering team currently there is due to stay at the base until December.
But claims emerged over the weekend that a male staff member assaulted and threatened to kill a colleague after their team leader changed their work schedule, prompting calls for the team to be rescued.
A glimpse of the base where the alleged attack took place has now been shown in footage from 2021.
A tour of the facility, filmed by another research team, offers rare insight into life inside the secluded base atop the Vesleskarvet nunatak in Queen Maud Land.
In the brief video shared by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), scientists show off the features of the base, equipped with a gym, sauna, bar and climbing wall.
Reminiscent of the 1982 film adaptation of The Thing, the station is home to loud generators, a snow smelter and packed storerooms designed to sustain life even when completely disconnected from the outside world.
An image shared on social media showed researchers believed to be those making the expedition to the base in February 2025
Footage from 2021 shows the dining room inside the remote hub in Antarctica. Video shows another team on a tour of the facility in 2021.
The station was completed in 1997 and houses dozens of scientists on rotations. Video shows another team on a tour of the facility in 2021.
Snowmobiles pictured inside the hanger. Video shows another team on a tour of the facility in 2021.
Scientists on South African Antarctic research base Sanae IV have pleaded for help
The tour of C Block begins in the gym, where the scientist shows off a simple climbing wall, punching bag and stationary exercise bike.
‘We have everything we need,’ the scientist tells the camera before moving to the sauna and storerooms. Boxes upon boxes are stored neatly on shelves.
Beyond the storerooms are offices for the engineers, water storage, a workshop, a sewage processing plant and the large hanger.
While the base is well insulated with walls half a metre (1ft 8″) thick, the scientist still wears his coat and fur hat inside.
He says later, while outside, that daytime temperatures around the base have dropped as low as -21C.
Dozens of scientists and engineers man the station while carrying out research into various fields.
To facilitate camaraderie, C Block is also home to a bar, which features flags and comfortable seating.
The interior of the state-of-the-art research station, completed in 1997, has been furnished with wood and decorated with group photos, breaking the clinical feel of the hallways.
In neighbouring B Block, residents have a kitchen and dining area, places to watch television and play games, a library and dormitories.
The cooking area looks more like a professional kitchen than the hearth of a domestic lodging.
Rows of metal shelves are stacked with boxes of bulk food and containers of liquid to be shared out between dozens of staff on 13 month expeditions.
In the A Block, to the south, they have access to a radio room and communications hub, as well as more storerooms and accommodation, laboratories and a medical facility.
Outside, the scientist shows the snow smelter, or ‘smelly’, which they use to collect all their drinking water.
Diesel generators inside keep the lights on and give the staff their few luxuries.
A bar with comfy seating and decorations offers respite from the intense work environment. Video shows another team on a tour of the facility in 2021.
A view of one of the kitchens inside the facility. Video shows another team on a tour of the facility in 2021.
Isolated from the rest of the world for months at a time, harmony between people living within the centre is crucial.
Extreme weather makes leaving and entering nearly impossible.
A team of nine scientists currently stationed at the base came into focus after one of the scientists last week sent an email claiming a colleague had threatened others.
They claimed that one team member had attacked them and was issuing death threats. The man in question is also accused of sexually harassing another researcher.
The author of the email, which was shared with South Africa’s Sunday Times, wrote: ‘Regrettably, his behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing.
‘Specifically, he physically assaulted [X], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norm. Furthermore, he threatened to kill [X], 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 environment ministry in South Africa said it was responding to the concerns with ‘utmost urgency’ and noted it was ‘not uncommon’ for individuals to have an adjustment period when they arrive at the station.
The group arrived in February and were set to remain on mission until December.
The ministry noted that people can struggle to adjust even if the rigorous background checks do not flag any causes for concern.
Staff have to undergo physical and medical assessments and a psychometric evaluation before they are cleared for the expedition.
The department also said it was investigating allegations of sexual harassment, adding that reports of sexual assault were incorrect.
South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) said the alleged perpetrator has ‘shown remorse and is willingly cooperative’.
But the team are now pleading to be rescued, though an emergency evacuation operation would take at least two weeks to reach them – if weather conditions remain stable.
MailOnline has contacted several members of the expedition and approached the Antarctic Legacy of South Africa, an organisation working with the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP), for comment.
One member of the team refused a request for comment from The Times.
A group of scientists trapped in a tiny base in Antarctica have sent an email pleading to be rescued after they say a member of their team threatened to kill another colleague. The base is located in Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica (file photo)
Researchers at the Sanae base only have each other for company in the absence of animals, other humans and society as they know it. Pictured is a different team of scientific researchers who were stationed at the base in 2014
In January 2013, a different group of scientists at the Sanae base launched 20 balloons up into the air to study an enduring mystery of space weather
A South African government official confirmed that the team member’s threatening behaviour was triggered by ‘a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do – a weather dependant task that required a schedule change’.
The author of the email seen by South Africa’s Sunday Times expressed immense concern over their colleague’s ‘increasingly egregious behaviour’ and called for immediate action to ensure their own safety and that of the team as a whole.
‘I am experiencing significant difficulty in feeling secure in his presence,’ the author wrote.
Neither the author nor the accused have been named.
South Africa’s environment minister Dion George said he would speak personally with the team to assess the situation.
‘There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person. Then it escalated and then that person did physically assault the leader.
‘You can imagine what it’s like. It is close quarters and people do get cabin fever. It can be very disorientating.’
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) released a statement on Monday claiming the alleged perpetrator of the violence had ‘shown remorse’ and was willing to engage in further psychological evaluations.
‘(The accused) has shown remorse and is willingly cooperative to follow any interventions that are recommended. He has written a formal apology to the victim and is willing to verbally apologise to all members at the base,’ the statement, seen by The South African, read.
‘The department has also implemented a longer term sustained intervention process through trained professional counselling services in order to restore the relationships and build a healthy working environment.
‘The DFFE have also, in parallel, activated a Labour Relations process to deal with the matter as it relates to the alleged physical assault. An alleged sexual harassment is also being investigated. Reports of sexual assault are not correct,’ the statement said.
Living in harsh conditions among a remote landscape and staggering temperatures of minus 23 degrees, the team rarely, if ever, leaves the base for their own safety.
Mr George said that researchers are required to undergo rigorous psychological evaluation to determine their suitability for the mentally demanding environment.
Craig Jackson, a professor of workplace health psychology, told the BBC that the psychological impact of working in isolation in a small group can see ‘tiny issues blow up into conflict’.
‘Issues about hierarchy, about workload allocation, even small things about leisure time or rations or food portions can rapidly flare up to become something much larger than they typically are,’ he concluded.
The Barrel team that was station at the SANAE IV research centre in January 2013 celebrates their final launch in the Antarctica sun
Alan Chambers, an explorer who completed a 700-mile skiing expedition in the region last year, said that from a ‘psychological perspective’ the South Pole is a ‘very very lonely place’.
‘There’s very little interaction with humans or animals so if you’re in a camp or a research centre you’re with those people for six months, if not a year,’ he told The Times.
‘Everything becomes heightened. It’s all white – there’s no colour, no noise and nothing you would see as normal so everybody’s behaviour – including your own – gets magnified and the little things become the big things.’
Mr Chambers warned the ‘loneliness of the continent’ majorly impacts behaviour and said that those who are stationed in Antarctica ‘really have to be happy with yourself’.
He claims that due to the fact that one spend ‘lot of time inside your mind’, small issues with others can escalate into larger problems.
There has not yet been any word of a rescue operation to evacuate the research team.
Most research missions to the desolate wastelands of Antarctica and the Arctic go off without a hitch, thanks to the extensive preparation time, background checks and physical and psychological evaluations to which team members are subjected.
But there have been several instances in which scientists have suffered attacks at the hands of their colleagues, along with reports of sexual abuse taking place in isolated research centres.
In 2023, American authorities launched an investigation after it emerged that more than half of the women working at the US’ McMurdo research base in Antarctica had experienced sexual violence.
McMurdo is stationed on the south tip of Ross Island and hosts up to 1,200 residents over the summer – a large majority of Antarctica’s population.
Antarctica is known for its vast icy terrain and isolated location, characteristics that mystify and intrigue most people – but also characteristics that have led to a rampant culture of sexual abuse
A US Antarctic research base was exposed by an AP investigation in 2023 that uncovered dramatic rates of sexual assault and harassment – amongst other claims that women’s outcries were not taken seriously
At least a third of those residents are women. In the winter, the number dwindles to about 200 people.
An AP investigation uncovered dramatic rates of sexual assault and harassment as several researchers came forward with complaints.
The probe was triggered after a marine diesel mechanic confessed she kept a hammer in her sports bra to protect herself because she was crippled with fear that she was going to be sexually assaulted or killed.
Liz Monahon, 35, spoke out against the raging harassment she and many other women on the US base had faced.
Monahon described being trapped in the toxic and dangerous secluded environment, she said: ‘No one was there to save me but me. And that was the thing that was so terrifying.’
The National Science Foundation published a report in 2022 which revealed 59% of women said they’d experienced harassment or assault while stationed in Antarctica, and 72% of women said such behaviour was a problem on the bases.
