Remains of Researcher Discovered on Antarctic Glacier After 66 Years

The remains of a meteorologist who perished on an Antarctic glacier 66 years ago have been unearthed and returned to England.

At just 25, Dennis “Tink” Bell embarked on a two-year mission to Antarctica in July 1959 to study the climate of the Falkland Islands, which was the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

Bell encountered a crevasse but managed to call out for assistance. He secured a rope to his belt and was pulled to safety, although the belt broke, causing him to fall again. This time, he did not call out for help.

His colleague made it back to base, but worsening weather conditions jeopardized further rescue efforts.

Ieuan Hopkins noted that working in Antarctica during the 1950s and 1960s was perilous, and fatalities were tragically common. Many bodies of other BAS staff remain lost today.

“There was an average 1% chance that you wouldn’t return,” remarks Hopkins. “It’s an extremely hostile environment. We’re at risk of losing people.”

Earlier this year, a team from the Arkdowsky Poland Antarctic Station on King George Island discovered numerous bone fragments on the glacier’s surface, having been exposed as they shifted over time.

“It’s a large, dynamic glacier, so things are perpetually moving,” explains Hopkins. “The presence of bone fragments suggests significant forces at play.”

The remains were transferred to the Falkland Islands and subsequently returned to Britain by the Royal Air Force aboard an Antarctic research vessel alongside Sir David Attenborough.

Denise Syndercombe Court at King’s College, London, identified the body through DNA comparisons with samples from his older brother David Bell and younger sister Valerie Kelly, as Bell commented in a statement.

The Polish team also uncovered many personal belongings believed to belong to Bell, including radio equipment, flashlights, ski poles, engraved wristwatches, knives, and pipe stems made of ebonite.