Latest news with #Erguel
6 days ago
- Science
Body of Antarctic researcher found 66 years after he fell into crevasse while exploring glacier
The remains of a 25-year-old Antarctic researcher have been found 66 years after he disappeared when he fell into a crevasse in 1959 during a survey mission, officials said. Dennis "Tink" Bell's remains were found among rocks exposed by a receding glacier at Admiralty Bay on King George Island, situated off the Antarctic Peninsula after he fell into a crevasse on July 26, 1959, and his team was unable to recover his body after the accident, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said. Over 200 personal items were also found, including the remains of radio equipment, a flashlight, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife, ski poles and an ebonite pipe stem, the BAS confirmed. 'The remains were carried to the Falkland Islands on the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough and handed into the care of His Majesty's Coroner for British Antarctic Territory, Malcolm Simmons, who accompanied them on the journey from Stanley to London, supported by the Royal Air Force,' officials said. Samples of his DNA were then tested and compared to samples from his brother, David Bell, and his sister, Valerie Kelly, by Denise Syndercombe Court, a professor and forensic geneticist at King's College London, who was able to confirm that the remains found were that of Dennis Bell. 'When my sister Valerie and I were notified that our brother Dennis had been found after 66 years we were shocked and amazed,' said David Bell, who is now living in Australia. 'The British Antarctic Survey and British Antarctic Monument Trust have been a tremendous support and together with the sensitivity of the Polish team in bringing him home have helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother.' Dennis Bell set out from the Antarctic base with three other men and two dogs on July 26, 1959, and attempted to climb a glacier leading to an ice plateau they were trying to get to so that they could carry out survey and geological work. As they ascended the glacier, Bell, along with surveyor Ben Stokes, negotiated a crevassed area and believed that they were in the clear, according to the BAS. 'The deep soft snow made the going difficult and the dogs showed signs of tiredness. To encourage them Bell went ahead to urge them on, tragically without his skis,' officials with the BAS said in their statement recounting what happened. 'Suddenly he disappeared leaving a gaping hole in the crevasse bridge through which he had fallen.' 'Despite the terrible conditions and the ever-present risk of falling into another crevasse they continued to search for the scene of the accident,' officials recounted. 'Ken Gibson [witness] remembers 'It was probably twelve hours before we found the site and there was no way he could have survived.'' The remains were discovered on the Ecology Glacier earlier this year in January by personnel from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island, though officials made their discovery public on Monday. The family will now decide how to mark Dennis's memory. 'Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions,' Director of BAS Professor Dame Jane Francis said. 'Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research. This discovery brings closure to a decades-long mystery and reminds us of the human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science.'
UPI
7 days ago
- Science
- UPI
British researcher's remains found in melting Anatarctic glacier
The remains of British researcher Dennis "Tink" Bell were found in a melting Antarctic glacier, like the one seen here. File Photo by NASA/UPI Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A British researcher's remains were discovered in a melting Antarctic glacier after he died from a fall while on a research mission 66 years ago. Dennis "Tink" Bell fell into a crevasse while working for Falkland Islands Dependencies in 1959, the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey, which reported the discovery on Monday. More than 200 personal items were found, including radio equipment, a flashlight, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife, ski poles and an ebonite pipe stem. The remains were carried to the Falkland Islands on the BAS Royal Research ship before being transported to London for DNA testing. The DNA samples matched with his siblings' samples, David Bell and Valerie Kelly. "When my sister Valerie and I were notified that our brother Dennis had been found after 66 years we were shocked and amazed," said Bell's brother. "The British Antarctic Survey and British Antarctic Monument Trust have been a tremendous support and together with the sensitivity of the Polish team in bringing him home have helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother." Bell was working alongside four men and two dog sledges, a surveyor Jeff Stokes, meteorologists Ken Gibson and geologist Colin Barton. Stokes and Bell believed a crevassed area was in the clear. But as the team and its dogs were struggling to make it through the snow. Bell went ahead of the group as an act of encouragement but he suddenly disappeared leaving a gaping hole down 100ft in the crevasse bridge. Stokes called repeatedly out to Bell, lowering a rope almost a hundred feet. He told Bell to tie himself on, Stokes and the dogs began to pull him up but Bell had tied the rope through his belt instead of around his body due to the angle he was laying at in the crevasse. When he reached the top his body jammed against the lip, his belt broke, and he fell down again. Stokes and Bell were initially ahead of Gibson and Barton. So, Stokes went down the glacier to meet with the two. They attempted to return to the crevasse but the weather had taken a turn for the worse. "It was probably 12 hours before we found the site. There was no way he could have survived," said GIbson. The remains had been discovered on the Ecology Glacier on Jan. 19, 2025 by personnel from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island. "The discovery of Dennis Bell brings sharply into focus the cost of scientific endeavour in Antarctica in the years before improved transportation and communication. Many of those lost were never found which makes this discovery more remarkable," the chair of the British Antarctic Monument Trust, Rod Rhys Jones, said.
NZ Herald
11-08-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
British man's remains found in Antarctic glacier 65 years after fatal fall
The family lived in Harrow, London, when they received a telegram informing them Dennis had died. 'The telegram boy said, 'I'm sorry to tell you, but this is bad news',' David said. 'Dennis was fantastic company. He was very amusing. The life and soul of wherever he happened to be.' Dennis, known as 'Tink', worked in the RAF and trained as a meteorologist before joining the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey to work in Antarctica. He went to Antarctica in 1958, where he was known for his 'mischievous sense of humour'. Records described him as the best cook in the hut, where he was in charge of sending up meteorological weather balloons and radioing the reports to the UK every three hours. On July 26, 1959, Dennis, along with three colleagues and two dog sledges, set out from base to climb a glacier to carry out survey and geological work. Ascending the glacier, they traversed a crevassed area, covered in deep soft snow, which 'made the going difficult and the dogs showed signs of tiredness', according to the British Atlantic Survey. Dennis went ahead without his skis to urge his team on, before falling through the crevasse bridge. Dennis Bell (left) with his fellow colleagues and the dogs that helped them to work in Antarctica. Midwinter 1959 at Admiralty Bay Base. Photo / British Antarctic Survey Sir Vivian Fuchs, a former director of BAS, described the story of Bell's death in his book Of Ice and Men. 'Peering into the depths, Stokes (Bell's colleague) called repeatedly and was greatly relieved to be answered,' he wrote. 'Lowering a rope almost a hundred feet, he told Bell to tie himself on. As he could not haul up the weight, he hitched his end of the rope to the team. The dogs took the strain and began to pull ... But Bell had tied the rope through his belt instead of around his body, perhaps because of the angle at which he lay in the crevasse. As he reached the top his body jammed against the lip, the belt broke, and down he went again.' Prof Dame Jane Francis, director of BAS, said: 'Dennis was one of the many brave personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions. 'Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research.' David Bell thought he had got as close to his brother as he could after going on an expedition organised by the British Antarctic Monument Trust in 2015. 'It was very, very moving,' he said. 'It lifted the pressure, a weight off my head, as it were. And I thought that would be it.' He was told earlier this year that his brother's remains had been found. 'I'm just sad my parents never got to see this day,' he said. 'It's wonderful; I'm going to meet my brother. You might say we shouldn't be thrilled, but we are. He's been found – he's come home now.' More than 200 personal items were found during the search, including the remains of radio equipment, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife, ski poles and an ebonite pipe stem. The BAS said Dennis' remains were transferred to the Falkland Islands on the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough, and placed in the care of Malcolm Simmons, His Majesty's Coroner for British Antarctic Territory. Simmons accompanied them on to London with the support of the Royal Air Force. The BAS added: 'The human remains were sent for DNA testing by Denise Syndercombe Court, professor in forensic genetics at King's College London. She has now confirmed there is a match with samples from his brother David Bell and his sister Valerie Kelly. They are 'more than one billion times' more likely to be related than not.'
