by The remains of a British researcher who got into a Crevasse on an Antarctic glacier 66 years ago were found, said the British Antarctic Survey (Bas).
Dennis Bell, then 25, disappeared into the ice on July 26, 1959 during the climbing of the ecological glacier on King George Island, one of the South Shetland Islands that are located north of the Antarctic Peninsula. He survived the first fall – estimated at 100 feet – but an attempt to save him failed and he was no longer seen.
In January, a team of the Polish base on King George Island found his remains and hundreds of personal items discovered under rocks when the glacier withdrawn, the bass said.
The Polish team carried out an extensive archaeological survey in February, repaired bone fragments and artificial artifacts-included a watch with a engraved inscription, a Swedish knife, radio equipment and ski-posts.
DNA samples were linked to Bell’s living brothers and sisters David Bell and Valerie Kelly, who were surprised by the discovery.
“When my sister Valerie and I were informed that our brother Dennis had been found after 66 years, we were shocked and surprised,” David Bell told Bas. He expressed the gratitude of the family to the British and the Polish team for ‘bringing him home’, and said that the discovered had helped them to come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother ‘.
Known under the nickname “Tink”, Bell came to the Falkland Islands Survey (FIDS) – the predecessor of the Bas – as a meteorologist in 1958, looking for more adventure after a career at the Royal Air Force.
Undated hand -out photo issued by British Antarctic Survey or Dennis Bell (right) Christmas festivities with colleagues from Admiralty Bay Station, C.1958. – British Antarctic Survey/Pa/Alamy/Sipa
“This discovery brings off mystery for decades and reminds us of human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science,” said Bas director Dame Jane Francis, who added that it was “moving and in-depth moment”.
Bell was stationed on a small British base with only half a dozen men in the Admiralty Bay by King George Island, where the sea is for nine months of the year for nine months of the year.
Undated hand -out photo issued by the British Antarctic Survey of Admiralty Bay Base on King George Island in 1951 where Dennis Bell worked. – British Antarctic Survey/Pa/Alamy/Sipa
On July 26, 1959, Bell and three other men went on dogs to climb the glacier on the peak of the island to perform research and geological work, with Bell and Landometer Jeff Stokes leaving for the other group for about 30 minutes.
The snow was deep and the dogs had begun to show signs of tiredness, so Bell walked ahead to encourage them, but he didn’t wear his skis. Suddenly he disappeared into the ice.
Stokes called down a hole in the ice and was “strongly relieved” to hear Bell answers, according to a report from former BAS director Sir Vivian Fuchs in Antony Nelson’s book “Ice and Men”.
Stokes then lowered a rope almost 100 feet into the hole, Bell told to bind it and attached it to the dog sled, in a fatal attempt to lift it out, Fuchs said.
“Bell had tied the rope through his belt instead of his body, perhaps because of the angle where he was in the crack. As he reached the top, his body was against the lip, the belt broke, and he went down again,” Fuchs said.
Bell never responded to the calls of his friend afterwards.
Stokes left markings on the site and started finding the glacier to find the other team of men. After 12 o’clock, when it deteriorates again, they finally returned to the site and found that he had not been saved in any way.
Not -dated hand -out photo issued by the British Antarctic examination of the area at the front of the Ecology Glacier, where the remains of Dennis Bell were found in loose rocks. – Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station/Pa/Alamy/Sipa
“Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS staff who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extremely harsh conditions,” said Francis, the BAS director.
“Although he was lost in 1959, his memory lived among colleagues and in the legacy of Polair research.”
After being found by the Polish team, his remains were brought to the Falkland Islands on the Bas research ship De Sir David Attenborough, where they were handed over to the coroner for the British Antarctic area and to London.
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