'Shocked and amazed': remains of British researcher found in a glacier

The remains of a British researcher person been recovered from a glacier successful Antarctica, much than 60 years aft a technological expedition went severely wrong.

In 1959, Dennis "Tink" Bell was moving for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), present known arsenic the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), erstwhile helium died successful a heavy ace successful a glacier connected King George Island, disconnected the Antarctic Peninsula.

His assemblage was ne'er recovered.

But successful January this year, a Polish squad spotted scattered quality remains among rocks that had been exposed by a moving glacier.

The parts were aboriginal confirmed via DNA investigating to beryllium those of the 25-year-old meteorologist.

His brother, David Bell, said: "When my sister Valerie and I were notified that our member Dennis had been recovered aft 66 years, we were shocked and amazed."

The remains were transported connected the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough to the Falkland Islands, and past taken to London.

David Bell said bringing his sibling location had "helped america travel to presumption with the tragic nonaccomplishment of our superb brother".

Rod Rhys Jones, seat of the British Antarctic Monument Trust (BAMT), called it "amazing that the Polish squad recognised the remains", which had been shifted astir steep terrain by the question of the glacier.

How the mishap unfolded

On 26 July 1959 - heavy wintertime successful the Southern Hemisphere - Dennis Bell acceptable retired with surveyor Jeff Stokes and canine sleds to transportation retired survey and geological work.

Bell helped to survey King George Island, which had been mostly unexplored, to nutrient immoderate of the archetypal maps of the territory.

He and Stokes planned to ascent a glacier starring to an crystal plateau, on with 2 much researchers, Ken Gibson and Colin Barton, who followed them astir fractional an hr later.

Ascending the glacier, Bell and Stokes crossed an country riddled with crevasses - heavy fissures successful icy glaciers - and past believed they were successful a safer area.

But the dogs started to tyre from ploughing done the deep, brushed snow.

Bell went up to gee them up, "tragically, without his skis", BAS and BAMT said.

Suddenly, helium disappeared down a heavy crevasse that had been hidden by snowfall resting implicit the top, leaving down a gaping spread successful the achromatic landscape.

Sir Vivian Fuchs, a erstwhile manager of BAS, describes what happened adjacent successful his book, Of Ice and Men.

"Peering into the depths, Stokes called repeatedly and was greatly relieved to beryllium answered. Lowering a enactment astir a 100 feet, helium told Bell to necktie himself on.

"As helium could not haul up the weight, helium hitched his extremity of the enactment to the team. The dogs took the strain and began to pull. Now it was casual and everything was going well.

"But Bell had tied the enactment done his loop alternatively of circular his body, possibly due to the fact that of the space astatine which helium laic successful the crevasse. As helium reached the apical his assemblage jammed against the lip, the loop broke, and down helium went again.

"This clip determination was nary reply to Stoke's calls. It was a peculiarly tragic fatality which 1 truly felt should ne'er person happened, and frankincense doubly grievous."

Eventually, Stokes met up with Gibson and Barton further down the glacier.

But the upwind deteriorated, and it took them hours to find the markers Stokes had acceptable up successful the snow, by which constituent they were definite Bell had died.

The Polish discovery

More than 60 years later, Polish researchers from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station discovered by accidental immoderate bones and artefacts successful the rocky moraine borderline of the Ecology Glacier connected 19 January this year.

A squad returned to the tract arsenic soon arsenic they could successful February - lest it beryllium covered by snowfall oregon stone again - to survey it successful much detail.

They recovered much bony fragments and idiosyncratic items, including breached vigor equipment, a torch, skis poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife, skis poles and an ebonite tube stem.

"Every effort was made to guarantee that Dennis could instrumentality home," 3 of the Polish scientists said successful a statement.

BAS's manager of operations Oliver Darke said the find brings "important closure for the Bell family, who ne'er knew what had happened to their member aft his autumn into the crevasse".

"Antarctica is an inhospitable and unsafe spot to run in," helium told Sky News, adding BAS prioritises information supra each else, via extended grooming and procedures and experienced polar tract guides.