Research Base “Sanae IV” from Antarctica, photo: Dr. Ross Hofmeyr / Wikimedia Commons
The remnants of a British researcher who died in 1959 during a mission in Antarctica were found this year following the melting of ice and rendered to the family, British Antarctic Survey (BAS), quoted by France Presse and Agerpres, announced Monday.
Dennis Bell, a young 25-year-old meteorologist, fell into a crew from a glacier located on the island of King George, the largest in the Shetland archipelago, on July 26, 1959.
The earthly remains were discovered this year by a team of Polish scientists. They reappeared to the surface in the middle of the rocks as a result of the phenomenon of withdrawal of glaciers in Antarctica, Bas said.
After enrolling in the Royal Air Force for military service, Dennis Bell joined Fids, who preceded BAS, as a meteorologist in 1958.
He was immediately assigned to the British Base Admiralty Bay, located on the island of King George, where he was going to spend two years.
At that time, about 12 people lived at the base surrounded by mountains and frozen water nine months a year.
On July 26, 1959, in the middle of the Austral winter, Dennis and three other researchers, accompanied by sled dogs, started to perform measurements on a glacier.
At one point, the meteorologist went down from skis to help dogs advance and collapsed into a creed. Located by his colleagues, he was lifted with the help of a rope related to the belt, who gave up because of the weight, and the young meteorologist suffered a second fall, which was fatal, according to his colleagues.
“DISCLUSE A MISTER for several decades”
In January, a team of researchers working on a Polish base on King George's island discovered human remains and other objects.
DNA tests, compared to samples taken from Dennis Bell's brother and sister, confirmed that it was the young British.
“When my sister Valerie and I were informed that our brother, Dennis, was found after 66 years, I was in shock,” said David Bell, quoted by British Antartic Survey.
Dennis was one of those who “contributed at the beginning of exploration and research in Antarctica, under incredibly harsh conditions,” commented Professor Jane Francis, director of Bas.
This discovery “has been unraveling a mystery for several decades and reminds us of the human stories attached to the history of research in Antarctica,” she added.
