Scientists in the base of Antarctica Sanay IV shook from an alleged attack

A group of scientists due to work for months at a remote research station in Antarctica has been shaken after a member of the team was charged with an attack.

About 10 researchers usually remain at the base, run by South Africa, which sits about 170 km (about 105 miles) from the edge of the ice shelf and is difficult to reach.

But a spokesman for the South African government told the BBC “has an attack” at the station, after more allegations of inappropriate behavior from the camp.

In an additional announcement observed by the BBC, the Ministry of Environment in South Africa said it responded to fears with “exceptional emergency”.

The Sunday Times of South Africa, which first reported the story, said the team members pleaded to be rescued.

The ministry also said that those in the team were the subject of “a number of assessments that include foundation checks, reference checks, medical evaluation, as well as a psychometric assessment by qualified specialists”, which all members have cleared.

The Sanae IV research base is more than 4,000 km from the mainland of South Africa, and the harsh weather conditions mean that scientists can be cut there during the bigger part of the year.

The current team was expected to be at the Sanae IV base until December.

South African research expeditions have been conducted since 1959. The Sanae IV base team usually consists of a doctor, two mechanics, three engineers, a meteorological technician and several doctors.

These expeditions, with severe weather conditions, require a lot of time spent indoors in the interior, are usually conducted without incidents, and team members have to undergo a number of psychological assessments before traveling.

But on Sunday, the Sunday Times in South Africa announced that a team member had sent an email with a warning of “deeply disturbing behavior” by a colleague and “fear environment”.

A spokesman for the South Africa government told the BBC that the alleged attack was caused by a “dispute about a task that the team leader wants the team to complete – a task dependent on the time that requires a change in graphics.”

Antarctica incidents are rare, but not unprecedented. In 2018, there were reports of stabbing at the Bellingshausen research station, run by Russia.

Psychologists indicate the effect that isolation can have on human behavior.

“One thing we know from these rare events, when something bad happens to the imposed isolation or work of the capsule, is that often small things, tiny things can explode in conflict,” says Craig Jackson, a professor of health psychology at the City University in Birmingham and the British Society.

“So the problems with the hierarchy, the distribution of workload, even the small things about leisure or rations or food portions can quickly ignite to turn into something much more than they are,” he told the BBC.

Gabriel Walker, a scientist and author who was on expeditions to Antarctica, said work in such a proximity to a small group of colleagues had risks.

“Do you know exactly how they put their cup of coffee and in what direction it directs the handle; Do you know that they scratch their nose three times before sitting; You know everything about them.

“And in bad circumstances, it can start to annoy you … Because there is nothing else – there is no other incentive and you are with people 24/7,” she said.

Sources within the Antarctica research community have told the BBC that South Africa has access to a ship that can be digested and an airplane.

But any rescue operation will have to fight the harsh climate, with temperatures being much freezing and the possibility of high winds.