New Delhi:
A team of South African scientists expected to work together for months in a remote Antarctic research station was left shaken after one of them beat, threatened and sexually harassed at least two of his colleagues. The researchers at South Africa’s SANAE IV outpost were supposed to spend at least another ten months in Antarctica, but they are now pleading to be rescued.
The South African crew of three women and six men includes a doctor who has her own skincare brand, a deputy team leader who assisted in making a short horror movie during a previous stint at the station, several engineers and a meteorologist, reported The New York Post.
While the crew member who is accused of making death threats and assault attempts was not identified, the South African National Antarctic Programme’s official website lists the researchers’ roster of the 9-member team as follows: Mbulaheni Kelcey Maewashe serves as the team leader and a senior meteorological technician, while Nivek Ghazi is the deputy team leader and an electronics engineer. Dr Sihle Mpho Lawana is also part of the team, along with Nkululeko Welcome Khoza, a mechanical engineer, and Athenkosi Mabope, a communications engineer. Geomarr van Tonder contributes as an electronics engineer, while Allowed Tumelo Seepane specializes as an instrumentation technician. Alian Stuart Jacobs plays a key role as a diesel mechanic, and Lebogang James Tsime is an electro-mechanical engineer, making the team a well-rounded group of professionals with diverse technical expertise.
The said colleague assaulted and sexually harassed his team members, even threatening to kill one of them, creating “an environment of fear and intimidation,” reported The Guardian.
“His behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim,” according to an email the team wrote to authorities.
Currently, there are no plans to rescue the research team. They are stuck in the base without any means of communication until December when a supply ship is scheduled to moor up.
“There were no incidents that required any of the nine overwintering team members to be brought back to Cape Town. All on the base is calm and under control,” South Africa’s Environment Minister Dion George told The New York Times.